For instance, motion detectors, window/door magnetic switches, glass break detectors, security lighting, timed interior lighting, interior/exterior cameras, backup power, etc can be combined to the extent of your preference and budget.

She (with her limited powers) tried/is trying to get a supervisor to over ride their usual policy of waiting on a vendor for 48 hours.  

Bear with me here:Raleigh population: 423,719 (local unemployment 3.6% = 407, 945 employed407,945 * $53,653 aver local salary = $21.9b total annual income of area50,000 AMZ jobs * 100,000 aver salary = $5b incremental annual income from AMZ$5b / $21.9b = 22.8% increase in annual income from AMZNow......I realize that not ALL of these 50,000 AMZ jobs will be injected into the Raleigh economy in one year, but if it takes two years, thats roughly an 11% increase and three years 7.6% (holding local area income stagnant over that time frame, which it wouldn't be)If you broaden the same calculations above to include all of Wake County, the numbers are obviously less impactful (8.5% annual increase in County-wide income in one year), but not immaterial IMO.Another simplistic way of looking at this is the average AMZ salary of $100k is almost twice that of the average Raleigh salary ($53k), so the argument could be made that that's almost like adding 7,500 jobs (as measured by purchasing power) to the local area.Again, I realize these are VERY simplistic arguments and it wouldn't take much to poke holes in it if you really want to parse it, but I do think it makes a solid case for it being a material impact on our local area here in RaleighThat said, I'm certainly not suggesting anyone invest here locally based on just that alone.

I can’t help but wonder though, how realistic are such techniques in a real world scenario.

But I know I get more CapEx buying power with a fourplex vs. a single family.Example...

Look up lease option or lease purchase this would be one technique I would look at using to access buyer that the MLS or agents just don't have at their finger tips.Jim

That also means that there's water/sewer hook-up and possibility to rehook up power. 

I've tried Purple Power degreaser in a few spots around the house, and it works.

I have had two sf homes with water issues; both foreclosures where the bank in their wisdom chose to not pay the utility bills, and both properties lost power to their sump pumps.Both had to be pumped, and were fairly dry after an hour.

(Electric is also renewable hydro power in my area, so cleaner and greener, too).