I have a primary house in Santa Maria CA that we are renting out and getting cash flow from it,  thinking of using the equity from that house to buy here in Orange County.

Down payment can be higher than primary, but the good thing is that you won't need that much income to qualify because lenders can you 75% of the market rents for the units of the property.

This is the primary reason I prefer VRBO over Airbnb.

Then in a year move out and buy another home with the equity you have built up in the home.Great thing about buying a 2-4 unit as a Primary is you only need 3.5% to 5% down which ever on you choose either FHA or Fannie Mae.

You have two properties, one of which is your primary residence.

I live in Sunny Arizona and has owned solar panels for years (full cash purchase) for 2 of my primary homes.

I’m doing out of state too, might bounce some questions off you in the future. 

My primary residence is debt free as is my rental property-- the thought is the rental will supplement the retirement income and I'm not chasing ROI/ COCr / vacancies / etc.Thanks for the welcome! 

Primary markets will continue to hold their value though tough to make them cash flow.

You can also HELOC your primary residence or RELOC the orange county property and transition that into cashflowing assets.