High real estate taxes, 21-day non-judicial foreclosures, nearly non-existent appreciation, unstable soils that destroy foundations, not to mention the ongoing severe drought. 

Of course, it should be noted that I’m not implying that it is healthy to remove every luxury from our lives, rather I just think it can be very eye opening when even a normal, middle class family closely examines what they spend each year on luxuries in comparison to the capital required for a real estate deal and for the vast majority of middle class families, their vehicles make up a significant chunk of excessive luxury that can be down sized – unfortunately, we often exaggerate those luxuries as necessities.

When applying for loans, the lenders like to see a healthy balance and it helps me get approved just because I have it.

America is always going to be growing, therefore; in areas where there is employment the market should remain healthy.

., radon (which is found in nearly all air) is a widespread problem when it can "build-up" (as inside a property) and if that property has problems, then it's likely the greater region does too... the soil under the neighbor's place isn't going to be drastically different in composition, so moving on to the next property only avoids the issue in my opinion. 

In our local markets we like to look for the downtrodden and unloved as they offer the best opportunity for forced appreciation (read: we can pull our initial capital back out once the property is stabilized).They also allow us to rehab the property to our standards for energy efficiency, sustainability and healthy environment without the cost of undoing the work of a recent renovation.In remote markets we are struggling between our nature to say - the bones are good, lets' go - and our trepidations around managing a renovation 1000 miles away with a team we do not know.  

We don't mind the debate - I think it's healthy for folks to discuss issues like this.

. :)  While there may be some slumlord RV parks around, this idea is more about setting up a REALLY NICE place for people to stay on vacation, in a healthy, safe location with a little novelty.

Question 2) Other than reading books on renting properties and attending the Lifestyles Unlimited 2-day course and being a FFP member, we are so new at this that we don't really know where to start regarding marketing our rental property to get a healthy number of applicants. 

Aside from all the things already mentioned, (cost of retaining walls, utilities, caissons, etc.) there's the cost of hauling dirt (determined by the type of soil the lot has and how far you have to haul it to dump it.