Unfortunately, the big fires didn't take the whole house, just enough damage to make it a big expense and insurance mess to repair, not enough to be a worthwhile claim. 

You're in the best position to know whether that's worthwhile or not. 

You may find the topic to be worthwhile.

I am not suffering analysis paralysis but while I work and save I just want to make my time worth while so I am prepared to execute with efficiency out of the gate.

But if you can make the fha work to start with, definitely worth while to be able to only put 3.5% down.Best of luck!

To build off Mindy's point, there is an Option 3 here and that's invest IN debt :)Might not be worthwhile until you learn more about the real estate space and get a deal or two like that under your belt, but just to give the thread more perspective, investing in mortgage notes could be a worthwhile fit for a similar situation.

If you can create multiple streams of income with additional tenants whether its units, rooms etc  then it might be worthwhile for the location.. 

Don't just work for it, because one day you are going to want to kick back, relax, and do other hobbies that make life worth while. 

There is a property for sale that has solar panels and I’m trying to analyze at what price point would this or another property be worth house hacking? This property is likely not ideal since it doesn’t have room for ...

However, if you plan to flip properties in CA, then it is a worthwhile effort.