Or you could live there for the required three years, and sublease it as a furnished rental on Air BnB for the remaining 2 years.

The house is fully furnished and my ideal marketing is towards visiting professors/graduate students/people who are in area for limited time frames. 

Their "record" would never stand up to anything resembling investigation2- Half the gurus are not real estate people at all; they are unsuccessful actors fronting for a seminar company.3- The basics of successful investing in real estate have not changed in one hundred years.4- Learning, understanding, and experiencing the basics of real estate finance, real estate law, and property management will provide the foundation for a successful investing career.  

He went to get his spare keys at the house and when attempting to enter the home, all the locks had been changed and someone had moved into the home, furnished it, and turned on utilities in their name.

Maybe you put in 10 percent as a down payment and pay for furnishings and the partner finances 90 percent.  

In many communities, representatives of the “Welcome Wagon” would take note of a person’s home, furnishings and character, among other factors.

You're in the right place :) I own some property in the East Bay and have furnished rentals up and down the peninsula, SF, and East Bay also.  

The other half of the year do you rent it out as a corporate/furnished rental for 30 days or more for less than market rate?    

Wouldn't move that far from family, but once we sell our house I would like to live in different areas for a while...sublease a furnished apt for a couple of months would be ideal.

RENTALI have some furnished rentals near Lake Merritt and elsewhere in Oakland, but wouldn't be able to quite get to your price point.