I think it's about the best time there is to outside of the past to invest and acquire properties.I just recently found an article by Julie Taylor from realtor.com that was posted December 10th that has some predictions on housing markets where "Home Sales Are Set to Soar" with Colorado Springs listed as number 1 with expected YoY sales increase of 27.1% and Denver expected to increase 13.6% YoY quoting Christine Dupont-Patz who is a real estate agent in the Denver area. 

. - some strategies I've seen California investors use to lessen negative cash flow: house hacking, mid-term rentals (people temporarily displaced from home renovation or insurance reasons like fire), rent by the room, Short Term Rentals. - The ultimate house hack, live in the small ADU unit and rent out the two levels of the main house on AirBnb in San Francisco (I would have thought STRs are oversaturated in S.F. but it worked for them and they stay fully booked).

We have 3 boys who are actively in sports and the location of the house just doesn't work out for us. 

Hi Jenna, house-hacking is the way to go.

Before buying or renting in an unfamiliar neighborhood, you should check the following two sites: SpotCrime, AreaVibes,These sites provide valuable information, including Livability Scores, which cover aspects such as crime rates, employment, health, housing, schools, shopping, and more.well, anything can happen anywhere.

Buy a 4-5 bedroom house and rent bedrooms.

After 20 years in real estate and working with a lot of military investors, I can say house hacking is a great fit for you.

How do I help them stay in the house, while getting the deed in my name?

There could be some real interesting back and fourth discussions to be had on the pro's and con's and risk's of these sub $200k houses in the Midwest, but I've been through thousands of tenants at thousands of these 100 year old properties in my career, and I've never been sued for a sidewalk slip and fall.

I’ve bought 18 houses since I retired in 2016 and still haven’t bought one from a wholesaler.