How can I check to see if the permits are really taking so long because of the city, or if he's been slow about following up on their requests?

This trend has obviously been going on for some time though it looks like it is holding or accelerating.  

Should I just slow down?

Also, do you find that you need to call those leads within 5 minutes to convert it to a client, or if are a little slow on the follow up have you still been successful converting them?

You might not be able to because they're super slow.  

My intent is to use this portfolio to accelerate my retirement horizon and develop a secondary stream of income that's less dependent on my physical time.  

I currently have little to no cash to put down as a down payment and I'm worried that will slow me down.

What's really slowing us down is the fact that we do this work remotely from Toronto, Canada.

I just read elsewhere that Las Vegas is up 13% on foreclosures from this time last year....however sales are also higher than last year...we are not seeing anytime type of slow down in the lower priced market.

Take it slow and get your processes in place.