Quote from @Joseph Gozlan: No, California laws kill California malls...Here in the Dallas metro, retail is thriving!

By house hacking, you're immediately positioned as a landlord, which will adequately pressure you to learn how to structure your leases, screen applications, collect rental payments, resolve the nuances of managing tenants and addressing property issues, etc.

There's a good chance the issue(s) you face has already been discussed and answered.Ask questions in the appropriate forum.

. - Just be prepared, because a motivated seller typically has a property with issues you need to be sure you can solve.

Another huge thing to consider is laws and regulations, many times new investors will jump at Hudson county thinking the proximity to NYC is great for renting (which it is) but many of the municipalities in Hudson county have very strict landlord laws. 

The challenge with S8 in this scenario is you always have a piano over your head and all a tenant has to do is call the code office to create an issue for you. 

Requiring a copy of a government-issued ID is a good extra layer of security.

I don't know the law or eviction procedures in Saint George, Utah.

Do you see any new rental property up in the market has increased rent since L.A. fire issue?

Unless you negotiate a new contract or addendum with your PMC, they do NOT have to abide by any requests/demands you make that contradict what's written in the management contract.If they have in fact NOT followed the terms of their contract, then you'll want to send them something in writing pointing out the specific language in their contract that they violated and ask what they plan to do about it.If they fail to correct or address the issues, then you'll want to start looking for a new PMC.