Be forewarned, the county parcel list will generally try to format the PID as a scientific, garbled string that you have to 'click' on to expand to see the whole number.

I currently invest in properties in Canada but hope to expand my investments into the US market (California hopefully).

I am looking to start an investment company primarily dealing with rental properties at first and then I want to expand further from there with flips, commercial, and so on.

In our rapidly changing world, I think the only relatively SAFE job is being self-employed.

I find that the cheapest things to do that make the house go that extra mile are:Curb appeal of coursePainted cabinets and maybe new knobsPainted doors and new handlesnew carpet/hardwood or just very cleannew electrical switch platespaint or replace trimtile in foyer or just nice flooringnew shower curtains or clean sliding doorsadd window shutters painted an offset color of the housenice mailboxto expand on curb appeal:clean gutterspressure wash or clean sidingLandscaping is almost a must to sell really fastexterior lightsThese are just a few and are very basic items that can add to that WOW factor.

America is rapidly becoming a service economy, which manufactures very little.

That can be like a cancer that will rapidly spread.

I'm about 15 days away from investing in my first rental unit in Grand Rapids MI and starting to have second doubts about this place.

The only way an economy can expand is by MAKING THINGS OTHER PEOPLE WANT.

In addition, with the socialists proposing universal health care, and President Bush enacting the Medicare drug benefit, the timetable for our country's bankruptcy is rapidly accelerating toward us.