Buy property in Bay Area with negative cash flow for first 2 year

[Nuo Shi]

I'm a first time investor. 

Currently, looking into a fourplex in Bay Area, the rent is 2100, due to the landlord didn't increase rent for past 6 years. If the rent increase to 2400, I can break even, while the pre-covid market rent is 2450-2500 around. Can I use the strategy to increase rent by (5%+inflation) for continuous two years? I think this is allowed by rent control. The current lease is month to month, so if tenant doesn't want to renew, I can have a small remodel and put that into market. At least, I think for the first year, a 2250 rent is still competitive. Does that sound reasonable? 

I read a lot of articles which mentioned cash flow is the king in real estate investing, however, almost impossible in Bay area. Does that make sense to tolerate a negative cash flow for first two years?

Yeah, I don't know whether in the next few years there will be a deflation, but with consideration of fed simulation and QE, there is also a good chance for inflation.

[Patrick Mallen]

We are in a hard market to find cash flowing properties and a especially hard market for house hacking where the rent you collect covers all expenses. That being said if your out of pocket costs are less what you would pay in rent for the same place it would make sense. You are also building equity over time, have tax advantages, and will most likely be able to increase rent to cover the expenses over time.