I *DO NOT* have any experience with discussing distressed properties, so maybe take my 2 cents with multiple grains of salt...I DO, however, have experience with cold calling and door knocking for insurance sales, and I am a 10 year veteran 911 operator who has experience with communicating delicately!

I am traveling to Arkansas from Salt Lake City at the end of August to look at some properties.

Again, I'm new to a lot of this as well, take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Take it with a grain of salt...

Im in Salt Lake City.

My second spreadsheet is mostly pulled from census data/trulia/zillow (so I take the numbers with a grain of salt) but it lists on the X axis the zipcodes as well as the county as a whole.On the Y axis it lists: average listing price, median sale price (90 day period), median sale price versus last year, price per square foot, price per square foot versus last year, median rent per month, vacancy rate, annual property growth value, number of rentals on the market for that month, median rent versus last year, median rent divided by 1BD/2BD/3BD etc etc, median age, median household income, school districts, single residents, college educated percentage, percent home owners, population growth etc (there's more but I feel this is sufficient to get the point)3.)

People tend to freak out when their house value doesn't go up 5% every year so I tend to take the headlines with a grain of salt. 

We've had several years of pretty rapid appreciation and now interest rates are up, there's a lower limit on mortgage interest deductions, and a cap on SALT deductions.

I mean I am just bad, so please take anything I offer with a generous helping of salt.  

We actually bought an old home in Adelaide in '68 for $5800 (owner hold) with serious salt damp issues that we gradually repaired then sold.