I was just reading Mark's book "The Tax & Legal Playbook" this morning and it specifically had a "critical warning" (page 31&32 in Chapter 3).

You and your legal, tax and financial advisors should review this transaction in greater detail, especially the PLRs, to ensure you understand the significant risks involved and are structuring the transaction as close as possible to the PLRs to mitigate some of the risks.

Lower property taxes, affordable housing compared to LA (CA buyers are usually cash buyers because what they net from their smaller home in CA can get them a bigger home here, often covered by what they net from their CA sale), allergies (smog), and politics. 

You want an investment that pays for itself, including mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and even some money set aside for a reserve to cover vacancies and capital expenditures.

I assume they collect a proration every month for property tax?

On property number one, I would cash flow $750 a month after mortgage, taxes, and insurance if I also rent out the unit I live in.

Quote from @Erick Pena: A "good" rental property is one that covers all expenses (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, property management fees, and any other costs) and still leave a surplus (commonly referred to as cash flow).Calculate cash flow as: Cash Flow = Rental Income − Operating Expenses − DebtThere's much more to it, but that's the basic idea.

Type Line Item Fee Fixed Fee Collected Rents 10% of All Collected Rents New Tenant Search & Onboarding $600 Variable Fees Business Hour Service Calls $90/hour + Materials Cost + Tax After Hour Service Calls $120/hour + Materials Cost + Tax 3rd Party Coordination HVAC Cleaning & InspectionGutter CleaningSpring/Fall Exterior CleanupSeasonal Mowing & Weed TrimmingSeasonal Snow PlowingGeneral Contractor Negotiated Vendor Cost + 10% Oversight Fee  

This allows us to close extremely quickly, which is an important competitive advantage.I don’t know how to read our own tax returns, and I’m certainly not going to read yours.

If you’re interested in investing in real estate, you can consider doing so with a Self-Directed IRA to defer taxes on capital gains until you actually withdraw the funds from your IRA.