Now the next time I see her, I will know her name (if I don't track it, I will certainly forget.)

You're on the right track already Sebastian!

Is the tracking of the number of views on Market Place posts something that has gone away for good?

I do collect the ones marked "deceased" and hand them over to a guy who specializes in tracking down heirs.

It has already proven to be invaluable.My wife and I have been investing in rentals on and off since 1999.  

I think you're on the right track Ann.

Brokers, law firms, accountants, advisors: they should have a proven track record of professionalism, knowledge, experience and network.

If you have a good credit history and 25% cash down and sufficient income obtaining conventional financing for up to four houses is actually very easy.If you don't have the above requirements, then you scramble to put together any deal until you have proven success and proven track record with which to attract private financing partners.Hard money borrowing eliminates many otherwise profitable transactions since the profitability needs to be much higher to pay the hard money rates.The hurdle with conventional financing is about 5%.  

But the bottom line is that if you have crummy credit, no track record, and no cash you are not going to be able to start in the fix and flipping business. 

While big projects are being talked about, I am skeptical about them coming to fruition.I hope that I am proven wrong, but I for one would not invest in this area today and expect to see much return on my capital anytime soon.Personally I think it's better to focus efforts on finding undervalued property in an already desirable area.