But, if you put yourself physically in situations where you're a little uncomfortable but able to soak up as much of what's going on around you as possible, that's where you'll stop feeling intimidated and start feeling empowered.Before I bought my first rental property, I once attended a rental open house at a neighborhood apartment complex.  

Also the houses in a neighborhood can be well made but if the quality of living is believed to be of a lower standard (opinion) the over all rating can go down so it is not necessarily the physical property that is just being graded.

Addressing the physical issue of actually preventing dogs from digging under a fence, I'd suggest what I did at my primary home. 

-Help someone reach your level, even if it's just a phone call-Decide right then and there-"Proper physical exercise increases your chances for health.

Durham kind of gets a bad rap but once they run out forest to plow under in the outlying areas I predict proximity will trump negative opinion.  

As for proximity, I didn't say I'm unwilling to relocate!

(The hose would not get disconnected from the wall drainage hole unless someone physically removed it and failed to put it back).

It  has been my experience that most of the marketing for that area is done to the Philadelphia market due to the proximity of the northeast extension as well as the new exit@ of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. 

In this situation there could well be something with the property - physical condition, title issue, etc. - that explains the gap.You might also look at other properties for sale in the same neighbourhood/area - if there are similar differences between the listing price and the tax assessed value, then perhaps the neighbourhood is in decline (you would have to look at adjacent neighbourhoods and over a series of years) to make such a determination.

I'll scan that loan file into one PDF and put that PDF into my "Cold Files" folder on our secure server the same day I issue the preapproval, and typically shred-bin the physical file right then because it serves no purpose and just takes up safe space in about 95% of cases.