Best strategy for a long-term Bay Area investment?

[Tyler D.]

Hey BP,

I'm considering buying a property to first owner-occupy, and later rent out in the Bay Area. I'm looking to accomplish a few things:

1) Take full advantage of Prop 13, by buying a fixer at a low price and locking in my tax rate at a low value.

2) Buy in an undervalued area that is expected to grow in the future. I'm looking at the East Bay, in particular.

3) Not buy at the top of the market. I am wary, seeing the amount of people leaving the bay area, at the current sky-high prices. The alternative would be to simply rent in the Bay and invest elsewhere.

4) Deal with the minimum amount of hassle with rent control/ tenant protections. For this reason, I am thinking my best option would be to buy a SFH and rent out rooms.

What are your thoughts on this? As said in #3, I am very wary given the current market conditions. That being said, I would like to take advantage as historically, the Bay Area has been an excellent place to invest. Should I go for it, and if so, what would be the best strategy to use?