I also wasn't too worried about the spill because I believe that appropriate cleanup efforts combined with the self correcting nature of the ocean would take care of this.

It will take you lots of time and effort to get this resolved.

I hope the rescue operations are run well and the loss of life and the suffering of the people there is minimized.I also hope the government of Pakistan will focus its efforts more in the future on the betterment of its people than in fomenting terrorism in Afghanistan and India.And, looking at the aid graph, it seems that the U.S. is by far the largest aid donor to the flood victims.

After a lot of stumbling around they both get results - often with no effort on their part.

In the long run as you gain experience what will more than likely separate you and determine your success (besides your own ability/effort) is the training. 

You should definitely be calling them yourself as you will put in more effort than any hired cold caller.

With the introduction of online auctions that simply get restarted if the secret reserve amount is not met, I have noticed the end result has been rather lackluster.

Are there any secrets of the trade methods for local market analysis?

I think this would be a joint effort between you, the seller, and an attorney.  

I think I'm the typical example of someone in my industry who has spent too much time being an employee rather than prioritizing the the effort to be my own boss.I'm looking forward to learning more from you all here and hoping to contribute anything that I can.My personal interests other than real estate are cycling, travel, and watches!