Ultimately, it’s essential to consult with your lender to understand what’s best for your long-term goals and costs involved.

My budget for the first property is $50k ~ $100k total cost (including rehab).

.: Cost of risk scenario. 

I have a confession: my only duplex, which I gave owned now for 2 years and recently moved out of from a house hack, has proven to cost me more to maintain/pay taxes/repair/fix etc to the point where my cash flow is close to zero.

Mind you, she used a legal aid attorney, so he didn’t cost her anything.

So, if a tenant broke a window and it cost $300 to replace, you can simply add that bill in apartments.com and that way its all tracked where everyone can see it and track it. 

Even though the FMRs are $730, I was conservative and used $600 for my Pro Forma- The current owner hasn’t raised them at all because he didn’t want any turnover- outside of cleaning and painting, no big costs- Not Section 8 

Finding deals outside of California can definitely open up new opportunities, especially given the cost of living and market dynamics in the state.When looking for properties in other states, consider focusing on areas with strong rental demand, economic growth, and population increase.

The reason being they see no benefit and they do not understand it. 

Time and practice will still teach you as you do deals but it will help you understand what things costs for the size of the property