Looking for Vacation property around 2hr drive of Bay area

[Vandana Rao]

Hello BP members,

Looking for a property below 200K with in 2hrs drive of Bay area. Would like to find a property with natural beauty to get away with kids on weekends. The property should be in good rental market and by able pay mortgage (with some down payment). The plan is to hire a property/vacation renal management company. Any suggestions?

Some areas that are in consideration : Arnold, Murphy, sierra areas, Gulala , mendicino area, sonoma, etc. 

[Leslie Bandy]

Below $200K within 2 hrs is tough.  There are a few properties to be had in the higher $200s to mid-$300s in the Russian River area where you could cover your mortgage through vacation rentals.  Lake Berryessa has good prices but a ban on short term rentals (as does all of Napa County minus a few licenses available in the city of Napa).  Clear Lake might hit your numbers - and there are some nice prices up there! - but I don't know enough about the rental market to vouch for it.  Heading east, most of the popular Gold Rush/Sierra towns are a bit over 2 hours.  There is the occasional fixer home/cabin under $200K but also a pretty rare beast.