That's the problem I seem to be facing - the clerks say I cannot research the recent files - but only provide names form newspapers to give them to look up themselves.

So I decided to put an ad in the local newspaper.

That said, there are still plenty of photographers out there working when all you need is a few hundred dollars for a great digital SLR and they seem to be able to charge $80 - 100/hr... soooooo...??

I think that a cloud-storage is key.I used to work for a management firm and we have invoices scanned so that there is a digital copy of each invoice.

I think there has got to be a better way as newspapers seem antiquated.

Not that my apartment is in that 7,8,9 digit stratosphere, but my mortgage and maintenance is less than I used to pay in rent!

I agree with Michael and others above that this issue is more about PEOPLE than HOUSES.You SHOULD be scared to invest in a remote market based upon phone calls, emails, and digital pics, etc. from someone you don't know. 

Im not an expert on other markets but in FL, you have to send out a notice in the newspaper to the public advertising the current probate proceedings of an estate so that any current creditors can make a claim and get their money back from the estate.

Stay agile ;) *I also had a front-row seat to the extreme losses, watching RE borrowers and developers go from 8 & 9-digit net worth to negative in the matter of a couple years*“An asset bubble is like an orgasm; It feels the best right before it’s over.”Most recently, here's the questions I've heard answered with "It's different this time.""

Just for the heck of it I once put a newspaper front page in a ziploc bag inside a mantle I hung above a fireplace.