OK, who are my CA zoning specialist ? Value add Questions here...

[Christopher Abernathy]

so i am interested in buying a 1-4 unit property in so cal and or surrounding. 

credit is great now but id like a "sleeper" or "value add" play. 

I'm mostly curious on what the simple "back of the napkin" formula to be able to understand  zoning and development potential just from looking at these codes quickly. 

as of now i google the city zoning map PDF and just use the legend to see if the parcel i'm looking at is RES or LR2 and all i know is that LR2 and LR3 mean the following: 

LR2 : more that one unit 

LR3 : a lot of units maybe 5-12 

so what im asking is does anyone know a quick rule of thumb like building height / car parking space. 

FYI: my interest is to get a property that has a unit or 2 or 3  that aren't incorporated. reason being is that the listing or sale price will not reflect the full potential of the property yet renting as is should be more simple than waiting for my Los Angeles market to cool off before i buy my first owner occupied investment property. Also if i am not mistaken i can also use CalHFA and Zip / CHDAP downpayment assistance programs having my skin in the game very  minimal. 

please don't bash me too hard or discourage me too much, those of you who go too straight edge and by the books frowning at anything that is not 100% permitted or those of you who have the portfolio and income to turn down and scoff at these "garbage properties. i don't currently have that luxury and i'm will to get in and grind so i can have more free time to make a full career transition into Real estate. 

Thanx in advance all BP'ers