Given what you’re looking for (affordability, cash flow, and the ability to add value), Detroit might be worth looking into.

Memphis is definitely worth a closer look.

Best I can tell all in all we about 3X cash on cash over 5 years.infil lots depending on lot we could double our money in 9 to 12 months cash on cash.. so on and so forth.

Assuming you have 5 units, each worth 300K, and you could afford the loss of one, but not all.

I understand they can make our life a lot easier but is it worth it if it eats up a lot of our cash flow? 

Socal is tough to find investment properties that work.I have a great realtor in Sacramento that can find properties that cash flow.

@Michael Challenger I scraped all the cash I could find and borrowed from family.

I can't speak too much to the market on the Westside, but as far as affordability on the West Coast Spokane is worth looking into.

I was trying to come up with some ideas to up the cash flow.

If property values appreciate well, you might be sitting on a property that's worth a great deal more than todays ARV, especially if you can complete some of the repairs while your grandmother still lives there.