Underwriting for a living, naturally the idea of investing in real estate appeals to me.

@David Krulac  please send those buyers my way  LOL  those are the kinds we likeWe are building new construction in Charleston Urban Core  ( regentrification) we experience all of what you said except for multiple bid or bid over ask.. we get them all sold at sheet rock and within 2 weeks of putting them on MLS...

1) there are so many built in transaction management systems online and for the high performing agent hiring a TC is becoming 2nd nature (most offices mandate and most escrows now include them for free in transactions) Dropbox and cloud drives seem to do the job for disclosures and Zip forms seems to create an online heaven for digital document signing and storage.

You ROCK Loren!

cost to hook-up utilities such as sewer, water, natural gas5.  

My wife and I have wanted to invest for a long time, and we fell in love with a duplex in Rock Island, Illinois.

With cyclical nature of market, should focus of investor be on different kind of property at different phases?

If you dislike your current agent and don't intend to work with them any more, then it's a moot point.If it were an off-market deal agents can often understand the nature of that, but when I have had clients go through the listing agent in order to save money on the commission (which almost always is shown to be a non-reality once you see the settlement statement), it has clarified to me that they don't need OR want me to labor for their best interests.  

I have also been able to rekindle the dreams of that 10 year old, and I cannot imagine for myself a more exciting and naturally appropriate vocation.Thanks for reading and I look forward to collaborating with you all.Rich

Its human nature.