Tax Benefits: Real estate investments offer a variety of tax benefits, including depreciation deductions and the ability to defer capital gains through 1031 exchanges.

They usually get caught and fined but it happens really frequently.

If there weren't a variety of ways to profitably have a REI career, most investors would fail.

Supply will go up, and demand will go up too but I don't think at the same rate because for a variety of reasons, but one being the buyers are losing their ability to be as qualified as years past.

Finding comps on MTRs is a long process and if you choose to do it yourself make sure you look at a variety of sources: Furnished Finder, Airbnb, Zillow, etc. 

When deciding between investing out of state vs home hacking in Oakland, keep the following in mind.Oakland House Hacking:Proximity: Living in Oakland while house hacking enables you to maintain a close proximity to San Francisco, which might prove advantageous for property management and maintaining connections with the local market.Possibility of Appreciation: Property values in the Bay Area have increased historically, which is good for accumulating equity over time.Local market dynamics, tenant preferences, and potential obstacles might be simpler to comprehend when one is in a familiar location.Demand for Rentals: Oakland has a robust rental market, and you can discover good demand for rental units if you pick the appropriate property and location.Creating Local Connections: If you live in the Bay Area, house hacking can assist you in making local contacts with property managers, real estate agents, and other investors.Investing Out of State:Investing outside of your state may be more affordable and enable you to use the same funds to buy more than one property.A few out-of-state markets can have more favorable cash flow prospects in contrast to the pricey Bay Area market.Geographic diversity, which can help reduce risks related to market-specific variations, is made possible by investing in a variety of markets.Hiring a local property management business, which offers a more hands-off approach to property management, is often necessary for out-of-state investments.Remember, both options have their advantages and challenges.

I would look at a variety of ratios and make sure they meet your buy box to determine if it is a good deal.

Too undiversified for me though.Another alternative is to sell some of the physical properties and purchase an equal amount of a RE mutual fund to allow you to rebalance your real estate portfolio with non-real estate investments more easily and frequently in the future.

@William Brock  We looked at a variety of properties around Canyon Lake two years ago for STRs. 

Compare the variety of grouts and caulking materials too.The new tile grout is easy to maintain and quite durable.