I would like to see what the local tricks and tips are to protecting ourselves as landlords in California thank you my name is Ryan have a good day

Obviously, I want higher so value add or re-finance as things happen I can always own the option.

Locate a Motivated Seller that will consider Seller Financing.

I actually got caught up in the creative finance bubble of trying to lock up properties way over their value just because it had creative terms not realizing that if you were to buy a property at 120% of its value you will never be able to refi or sell without paying out of pocket.

Id keep looking if it was not an approved short sale ( even an approved short sale takes a very very long time and theres no guarantee that you will even close on the house after months of waiting). q1)There are plenty of non traditional lenders that could offer you construction financing if the numbers make sense but it will cost you with points and a higher rate.

This is not yoursituation, but just to walk through the different thought processesin Holding/Selling that a friend of mine is going through.Helped my friend getinto the Self Storage business and walked him through the wholeprocess from evaluating the market, selecting a site, developing thesite, systems, financing, insurance, etc.

(More information on how to best use Social Media in the last tip)TRACK EVERYTHING IN A DATABASEMake it a habit to get contact information from every person you meet.

FHA is for sure not going to be an option for him, last option is purchasing from an investor with owner financing, or lease to own program where he will not need traditional financing. 

But i was able to achieve the elusive infinite return on a majority of my RE and all of my investment RE that I purchased prior to 2020.Infinite return has the benefit that the finances are not the hindrance to scale.  

I am not an expert here but my thought is that you would learn a lot by getting your license and have more credibility in the industry at large so if your time and finances allow- get that license:)