California is certainly not landlord friendly, as you have already eluded to.

I had a friend who came to me early '09' in a panic.

Patience can be your best friend and if you attempt to over leverage a property it can come back to hurt you.Some will recommend buying subject 2 where you could take over an existing mortgage that could be at a substantially lower rate - but if the lender finds out and calls the loan that could also be very bad.

The owner is a former mortgage underwriter and she is preparing documents herself and having her friend at a title company execute the sale.  

He acted like a used-care salesman - trying to be my best friend at the meeting.

Love that you are coming to the market to interface here, nothing can substitute it in my mind.  

In Phoenix, I might call up a friend who invests in mixed-use properties south of Roosevelt Row, and that friend might know a local title rep who’s been working with out-of-state buyers who like to pull the trigger fast.

Can you imagine taking a couple days off work, looking for a new place, paying for new applications, putting down deposits, renting a moving truck, finding friends to help you move, paying to clean your old place, and so on to “Save” $300/yr? 

- California is not a landlord friendly market. 

Has anyone heard of a bank that is friendly to Self Directed IRAs and offers interest.I had Titan (have checkbook control as well) and switched as like you said, they don’t pay interest.