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Of course, Google's methods are kept secret, but most people believe that how deeply the googlebot crawls is a function of the pagerank of the linking sites. If the clients' pages don't have any incoming links other than those from your site, then there may be little pagerank trickling down to them. I think the more quality incoming links a site has, the more frequent and more deep the crawling will be. It definitely will not crawl ever-deeper into a site unless it perceives it as a "good" site.

I don't know if the cookies would prevent the crawling. My guess would be no, but I could be wrong. You could setting your browser not to allow cookies and then browse your site to see if you get any problems.

I know that googlebot can follow javascript links, but the last time I seriously looked into it, it seemed that Google was choosing not to follow such links and wasn't using them in the calculation of pagerank. It's possible that has changed. Eliminating the javascript links was probably a good idea.

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about aspx-links, so I don't have any idea there. You could set up an experiment, though, with two similar subsite -- one linked to with just an aspx-link and another with a traditional a href link. Just a thought.

You need to discuss the topic of "entity piercing" with your attorney. The protection an LLC provides is not absolute and likely depends quite a bit upon state law and precedent (so what's true in one state may not be true in another). It's also my understanding that LLCs with just a handful of members (or worse yet, a single member) tend to be even higher-risk.

Really what you are talking about is REO (real estate owned). That is, property which went through foreclosure and is now owned by the bank (or HUD, the VA, etc.). At least where I am, these properties are all listed by real estate agents and are available on the MLS. They are listed for less than other properties of comparable size in the neighborhood, but there are a couple of things to watch out for. First, these properties are often in less-than-stellar shape. Also, those that I've looked at are only sold "as-is," and inspections are more difficult because all the utilities are usually turned off (and, in the case of the plumbing, winterized). So there's a little more of a gamble to them. I've bought two houses like this, and both turned out to be great deals for me.

The bank (or government agency) wants to get as much as they can for the property, but there is definitely room for negotiation. It can be difficult for them to really know the best price to list at, because the majority of recently-sold houses did not have these issues. Ignore the list price, and instead figure out what price would make it a good deal for you. If the two numbers are close, you might be able to get the deal you want. If not, you can still go ahead and try. I'd also keep my eye on those that you see as potential deals, because even if you can't come to a price, the bank may be more willing to negotiate if some time goes by and they don't get any offers to their liking.

And don't forget to try out the "Property Analysis Tool" (available on the left under Interactive). It's nice because you can see what the numbers look like using different assumptions about repairs, maint., vacancy, etc.

Well, this isn't what you're looking for, but I think the reason the MLS works so well has nothing to do with how sophisticated the database is or how many search fields it has. It works because all the Realtors use it. If I were trying to make a comparable program to use elsewhere I would spend a LOT less time worrying about the code and a lot more figuring out how you're going to get people to use it.

Look at craigslist, for example. It's one of the most simplistic, low-featured database sites out there. But, as more and more people use it, its useful grows and entices more people to use it. In some places it's wildly popular. It has a single search field and allows no boolean operators.

I've been using craigslist to post rental vacancies, and I know from posts here that a lot of you are, too. Do you get flooded with these out-of-town scammers? As soon as I post an add I get about 5 replies (within 30 minutes sometimes) of people "moving" here. I've been ignoring most of them, because when I do investigate, the story is invariably fishy. They give lots of details (such as they are coming to work for so-and-so) but when you check it out, so-and-so has never heard of this person. I even get phone calls like this. I guess it's just a part of life, I was just surprised by how flagrant it is and how little I've heard of it. From what I can tell, most of these scammers are either fishing for good email addresses (once you reply to them, they've got your real email address) or they're part of the fake cashier check scam (where you get a cashiers check for more than the deposit, refund the difference, then discover that the original check was bad). What experiences have the rest of you had? I've probably missed out on a legitimate renter or two, I suppose.

Do you believe that? Just because it may have no vacancies now doesn't mean it will stay that way forever. And even if it's so popular there's a waiting list to get in, you'll still have vacant periods between one tenant moving out and another moving in.

Per year?? On an 8-plex? I'd wager it's either way higher than that or there's a lot of maintenance and repairs that have been neglected (and you'll be paying for those later).

I don't do this, but I know many landlords that have their tenants pay rent by making a deposit in a bank account. They do it for the ease and because it allows them to get the money without having to wait for a check to arrive in the mail (just check your account online). Anyway, it works perfectly well for tenants who only deal with cash.

As far as the logistics go, I don't know all the details. I think each tenant is given a specific amount to deposit. So, if the rent is $750, one tenant's amount is $750.11, another's might be $750.82, etc. That way you know whose is whose. If there's ever any doubt, they always have their receipts.

In theory I guess it seems a little scary because you give tenants a deposit slip that has your account number on it. But you do give your account number out every time you write a check, so I don't know how much worse it is. If I ever do set up a system like this, I'll probably have two accounts, one where they make the deposit and another into which I would quickly transfer the funds.

You can try out rentometer:

http://www.rentometer.com/

Not sure how accurate or useful it is, but it's fun to play with (apparently I'm offering a "good deal.")

If you're thinking Section 8 at all, you can look at their "Fair Market Rent" page:

http://www.huduser.org/datasets/fmr.html

I'd think it's being over-taxed. If it were my property, I'd contest the assessed value. With the comps, I think I'd have a good shot of getting it lowered. I would not conclude in any way that the property is worth more than the comps say (assuming they were done well by a competent real estate agent).