I have been paid as long as three years after the judgement by someone who needed it off the credit report, and I once collected the full amount from the employer who failed to answer a garnishment order.

@Rob RandleI was employed at my career job at well known company, for 4 years out of college.

Is there one or two main employers that can potentially shut the town down?

Notwithstanding the cyclical turndown in energy, that new Exxon HQ is awesome and will be driving employment growth for decades to come.

https://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/treasury/revenue/dcr/filing/page1.cgiYou also should go to irs.gov for an EIN (employer identification #).Disclaimer: This isn't legal advice.

It's got my head spinning.......I am self-employed, so my income is variable.

A great resource for LA outsiders to find relevant information about the little neighborhoods inside Los Angeles is: http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/ ...it shows how wildly Income, employment rates, rent-to-own ratios, and crime statistics differ wildly between the little neighborhoods of L.A. 

If you are flipping, isn't there a self employment tax to be paid?

These cycles will wipe out the weak that jumped in when risk was seemingly low (positive employment, RE in the news and uncles buying SFRs) while those that accumulating will be moving sideways growing their balance sheet preparing to buy from those that missed all the signs.

When you are self employed you may not earn any money but you are unlikely to get fired.