I never paint, swap rugs (except flooding), or do other improvements on rent controlled units This can lead to blight.Who benefits from rent control?

With their low income and it's unlikely they'll get a better paying job.

Investments from CA tech companies is driving job and population growth. 

If a buyer agent asks how much commission the seller is offering, the response is: "seller is expecting to pay a commission, buyer and buyer agent should decide on the amount and include it in your offer"This is a huge improvement for buyers, because the buyer agent commission is more transparent, and easier to negotiate.

My goal for 2025 is to ask for feedback from clients to improve our onboarding process.

If we stay with our high-paying jobs, we can carry the properties, but we(spouse and I) are too afraid to invest in Class B or C neighborhoods.

I'm an investor here in Columbus OH myself and have seen the city's solid and steady growth with strong economic fundamentals driving the market like major companies moving here (Meta, Intel, Google, Amazon, etc), job growth, and population growth.

They will do a slap dash job on a house that still has a bad roof and foundation in a neighborhood that will see zero appreciation. 

Last question, how significantly would the APR improve if we leave 30% in vs 25% or 20% on a HELO? 

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.