The RE agent serves as his eyes and ears locally, as we're both in different parts of the country.

Loss of jobs, etc. makes "making the govt pay me instead" (i.e: Section 8) sound like music to my ears.

Here are a few things you should consider:Homes from the 1960s, if well-maintained, can be solid investments, but ensure the price reductions align with current market values and potential ROI.If not, it'll be like a buffalo taking a dump in your ear. 

We have enough noise running a business and should filter out as much as possible.

If anyone has suggestions on how to begin, I am all ears!

You can make money out of state, but I would recommend really honing in on a trustworthy team to be your eyes and ears on the ground.

if anything, itll put a bug in their ear.

My office is on the first floor - this conference room is on the 3rd floor and used by the entire office building.I've used it before for casual meetings and it's great since there won't ever be a seating issue or any noise issues like a public establishment could have - plus there won't be any business owners "expecting" us to buy food or drinks while we are using their conference room.If anything, we can try it out once and if we don't like it - no biggie and we can go somewhere else.Friday for me before 2 pm are good.

Biggest issue would be that they are well attended so you would probably only have a seat in the back or standing room.When I did my classes there we got out a little early most days so you can play in by ear and if they let you go by 6:30 (really is less than 5 minutes away) you could hit it.

Keep pushing and remember to always keep your eyes and ears open for those deals!