NYC real estate is tough.

Additionally, Springfield and Media seem to have pretty good schools, but the higher home values combined with the property taxes makes it tough.

Yes, it has been tough,  when your struggling to meet your own household needs and see a large pile of funds that you own 1/3 of but cannot touch. 

I'm having a fairly tough time finding useful data on these items.

My clients are generally buying very larger properties for millions  or tens of millions so earnest money is in the hundreds of thousands.Dealing with REO banks is tough.

who hang their shingle out there I will work in exchange for mentorship.. but of course these folks have no experience so you have to be in training mode. but never know when you can polish up a gem.on stricktly commish basis I think this will be a tough one for you.. unless your a top player and buying numerous deals each week or if its a once a month auction your buying 10 to 30 props at a time.

We try to buy > 8% and honestly it can be tough to find those deals right now but they are out there if you can get things before they list.

I know zero about plumbing and talking with these contractors is tough because I'm at a complete informational disadvantage.

With tile I think it's tough to meet 8.15 for labor and materials for the best tile on the market.

My advice is to interview realtors and ask them some tough questions to gauge their depth of knowledge.