I have been looking in another state and it is not as cluttered and the deals seem better.Their purchasing process was a little maddening, but I was not in any hurry for both properties.  

I have learned, mostly the hard way, that owning real estate can be, at times, maddening but very rewarding.

I took a $ 250,000 contract with somebody that I strongly distrusted before I even shook his hand.  

Even though the document hasn't been filed yet....It shook the tenant up.

@Caroline Kirby-Madden I got my agent license mostly for investing purposes so I can relate to non-typical buyer.

Every time I saw the sellers, he shook my hand firmly with a smile and seemed greatly appreciated.

What makes this doubly maddening is that, in 20+ years in the financial sector working with national and international financial institutions, I've never had to deal with one not in sync with New York EST markets and Fed schedules.  

As my girlfriend and I sat there thinking to ourselves (at 3am, now wide awake after the neighbors had a physical fight and shook the house for a solid half hour) "there's gotta be a better way", I took to Google and started my Real Estate Research. 

@Clifford Madden`  A ripped carpet is not worth making a big deal over when you have a tenant like you describe. 

Does anyone else make use of the smoke detector and/or CO form like @Michael Madden does?