Bolt locking is good idea, gives a false perception of ownership.If I want more bang for my buck, I would place 2 twin size beds in each room and buy a wardrobe for each bed.

How do you get over the perception or lack of popularity in certain markets?

The general perception in the insurance industry, as well as general population, is that they are dangerous and aggressive.

Saying "special needs" is a very broadly defined population to serve, I suggest you narrow down the specific population you want to serve and then research very carefully  the following areas:What is the public perception of that population?

I was watching The Matrix yesterday and it got me thinking about mental perception of ones self.

Alex - not sure what your perception of good is, but I personally like and invest in Valhalla - just purchased a duplex at 83rd/Villard this month.It's not super sexy and imo won't see great appreciation, but it's much more solid with less crime than the other NW neighborhoods and cashflow is great.  

My perception is that it's getting super competitive everywhere, particularly on the MLS, and that you really need to hustle to get a great deal.

http://www.freddiemac.com/multifamily/pdf/mf_renter_profile.pdf

Which means it'll be hard to shop by "listing agent sucks at their job," since online reviews only tell you the consumer perception about how good someone is at their job, which is only vaguely correlated with how good they actually are.

Now in this particular case, it may be important to understand now that the OP as the investor has been harmed (even if by perception), I would imagine one of the claims to go after JW is that the investment was in fact a security and he lacks the appropriate license to sell securities.