@Brian Jackson is doing repairs yourself the highest and best use of your time? I get that labor costs (along with everything else!) are sky high in Southern California, I'm from there myself! One thing to consider is that in terms of wealth building and Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrant, owing a rental and doing work yourself is putting you in the self-employed quadrant, not Business Owner or Investor.
I think there are a lot of factors stacked against California for long term rentals, and I think you know it too! Landlord laws, taxes, labor costs, property values, etc. If you ask around, you likely know someone in CA investing out of state.
If you evaluate a long term rental property from a micro view of let's say the Year 1 return, with interest rates where they are, and using conservative estimates for rent, you'll be hard pressed to find compelling cashflow without going into C or D class areas nationwide. I'd say "zoom out" a bit and look at things from a 3-5 year view. Evaluating different options from that standpoint will allow you to best determine what will truly move the needle in terms of your wealth building. If something breaks even now, what could it look like in that time period with rising rents, possible refinance if/when rates go down (lenders are offering these with no fees!), and appreciation?
Even if cashflow isn't your focus, I would caution against a truly cashflow negative local property, where you're also not factoring in the cost of maintenance. There are better deals out there.
If cashflow is your focus, and you are willing to do more work for more return (i.e. self manage), then a short term rental would be worth considering.
