Need help from my SoCal investors

[Vincent Ludegna]

Hello BP squad!

I'm looking to do a house hack here in Southern California's LA area this year, but I was hoping I could pick your brains first. Just to give you an idea of what I'm trying to do, I'd ideally like to purchase a duplex (at the least), live in one unit while I rent out the other. I plan to purchase this property on a FHA loan and my budget is about $350k on the low end, and $450 on the high end. I've listed a few questions below that have by rattling around in my head. Any advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

1. Do you recommend any specific cities near LA to buy a small multi-family property where the numbers make sense?

2. What is a realistic cash-on-cash return and CAP rate number for SoCal's market? Should I even be concerned about the CAP rate for such a small property?

3. Is it realistic to get a $100 - $200 in cash flow in this area without any major rehabs?