I've been on an education bender since mid-December and haven't seen much on the nuts and bolts of how real estate investors analyze a city's potential.

@Brian Burke  I am with you I can't see how anyone can be fully engaged in real estate and not be licensed.I get it if your mom and pop going to own 20 to 50 doors and run them ect. but if your going to do deals.. having that commission to either take if the opportunity exists or access to MLS unfettered and also for credibility.. like you I have bought hundreds upon hundreds of distressed assets and never a worry .. simply disclose I am a broker buy for profit or loss.. end of discussion.. and especially if you a house flipper anyone flipping houses retail is nuts not to have a license ( in my opinion many times that's the difference of a profit or a loss).

Those markets are nuts.    

Again, this is the basic nuts and bolts on how this is done.

I figured I'd be able to learn about the nuts and bolts of what makes up my future investments.

@Natasha Wade The buyer/broker agreement in NC works the way @Russell Brazil described it too.

so I got a new question: he says "before we get into the nuts and bolts of investing in APARTMENT BUILDINGS"later in the text:"I'll show you why I feel MULTIFAMILY investment in particular is the single greatest real estate investment available"Does he mean that apartments buildings is= High big apartment buildings ?

So we decided to go nuts and pay this **** off fast.  

@Russell Brazil Do you see DC flips mainly as condo conversions or normal rehabs?

@Russell Brazil Duly noted thank you.One mistake I've made recently is paying for a year of insurance up front, off the word of the loan officer that we were about to close the next week. 4 months later we still have not closed. $90 a month for a property I do not own.