I agree with Matt and Dana that playing the appreciation game is more like playing the slots, so I've decided to ignore this as a factor in my buy decision.

I will take the contrarian view here... this is an owner occupied purchase correct and your using one of your mortgage slots to buy a 3 unit..

I viewed a flipped home the other day it had what appeared to be RTA cabinets with all the features, slow close under draw slides and hardwood draws with the slotted cuts.

Best of luck in the search, between HouseHacking, STR, and BRRRR / DADU's there are a lot of great strategies that work in expensive coastal markets like California and LA. 

Hey @Charlton Ho- in addition to the ones already mentioned, our HouseHack Seattle Meetup is a great place to to meet other HouseHack, STR, BRRRR, and DADU investors.

Take advantage of favorable zoning code, specifically ADU's and DADU's, and do value add projects.If you're househacking (by far the best way to start and grow a portfolio) I would look for single family homes with basement ADU's and more than 4 total bedrooms - the average family size in Seattle is quite small, so the small houses often have more competition and higher prices per square foot than the larger houses, and the larger houses rent for quite a bit more.

@Matthew Jaeger it can be hard to find condoized ADU, SFH, and DADU comps because the MLS and listing agents selling them often don't categorize them consistently.

@Paras Newbe great questions - DADU regulations vary by City & County, with Seattle, Kirkland, Bellingham, Tacoma, and Burien being the most DADU friendly in our region.

when I first started out I knew a kid who used to put his card in the credit card slot at gas stations so they had to take it out before they can use it to pay.  

We have zoning that allows you to split certain lots (like RSL zoning) in half, or build additional dwelling units like DADU's on the property to quickly turn one 3% down househack into a 2-4 unit portfolio of rental properties.