., This is the best forum of real estate help I have found on the web.

There's a big meet up group here I am planning to check out too (Black Diamond).

has anyone ever done a web search on themselves?  

@Sandy UhlmannThere are a lot of factors that go into making such a decision, such as your age, the expected return on investment, current income & tax rates, expected tax rates in retirement, etc.Generally speaking, the longer you will have the account and the higher the rate of return, the more likely you will achieve the desired result, which is access to more after-tax cash in retirement.There are many good calculators out there on the web that can help you get a rough idea of the concept, but a conversation with a licensed professional who will help you look at all of the short term and long term variables is the right way to go.A basic consideration is that the distributable amount in the converted Roth needs to equal or exceed the after-tax distributable amount of the traditional IRA + the personal cash you use to perform the conversion.Converting before the account starts producing higher returns can be to your advantage.  

@Karen MargraveThe biggest thing for me is having a web presence.  

Typically the people working in this space are the bottom feeders in the industry; even buying these direct would be hard b/c the contractors working on these properties are also bottom feeders.These type of stories are such a black eye to our city and industry.  

Seems like there is wealth of information here to read through - loving the pod and web casts.Looking forward to being part of the community.CheersRich

What Lucas said has a good basis in the renter data (which is sobering) out in this study from last year on the financial state of renters in the US: http://www.finrafoundation.org/web/groups/foundati...Short answer: be rigorous but realistic

I used an inspection camera I got on a Black Friday sale at Harbor Freight to look inside, and there is definitely insulation in the walls. 

Setting up a website is SO SIMPLE and once someone completes your web form their information is automatically stored in Freedom$oft for you to manipulate as needed.I've used it for over two years now and have had great success getting FSBO leads that are not on the MLS.