That will have some effect on your tax situation.Best to call some property management firms in the area and ask the reserve question.

In my state there are several places that offer online courses also.You might contact a large realtor firm in your city and ask about local options to take classes to become a realtor.

I'll probably stay up overnight playing hold-em.

The second option is to find out which realtors or firms handle the REOs in the area you want to buy in and become friendly with them.

If they come though with funding that meets the terms of the contract, I think you may be stuck with losing your EM.

Be fair, firm and consistant with the kids.

We've had some really great experiences and some not so good experiences.We've recently enlisted the assistance of a property management firm that does extensive screening of section 8 tenants.

Also, once you get into dealing with some of the larger firms, you will find that they do not offer cooperation, yet they are charging the seller anywhere from 3-5%.

I find the difficulty is finding a balance between being firm with them on the phone, and being too tough and turning them off.

The local nature of real estate investment prevents any large firm from "dominating" the industry so to speak.