If the bills are in the tenants name, the water and sewage companies can not provide a status of the account, but they have no problem placing a lien for unpaid bills.

In this, familial status basically means children.

Cap gains tax applies to both income and owner occupied properties, of course, currently, you do not pay cap gains on your personal residence up to a certain amount depending on your filing status, which will be changing as of Jan 1, 2009.

They should stress that this "tax free" status is only for the duration of the time that you own the property or execute a 1031 exchange.

THere is a Lowell Landlords group that's pretty active on Facebook (If you're on facebook at all).So far BP has been the best forum I've seen with help and knowledge.

There are companies that actually want their employees to use Facebook at work.

I have found more people through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn then I can tell you.My favorite example is where I located the owner of an abandoned home on Facebook.

Financial Freedom is the most obvious and vital,  but if I'm being completely honest, the second reason is status. 

I look at their facebook page (found pics with him and his homeys and guns), google for name and city and 'mugshot' and have found several. 

The status quo was generating no revenue at all, so my downside was limited.There's no City-run inspection programs here, so there's no certificate of occupancy stuff to worry about in the same way as there are in other markets.