My wife and I approached him to discuss buying it from him since it is simply sitting.

It would be ideal to start here for a hands on approach, but honestly, if the deal is good, I'd take it in any profitable market.

A lot of our clients will. approach this exact way but not give up their search for bricks and mortar until much closer to day 45. 

This approach enabled us to move forward with minimal delay, giving us the flexibility to work efficiently within the timeline we set.

I know this isn't the usual STR approach as most are going after high end vacation spots, etc but to me this strategy is low risk as I'll make sure the numbers work so that I can convert to LTR if needed. 

Flipping during a bear market or high-inflation period can present some unique challenges, but it’s still possible to profit if you approach it carefully.

This approach seems more manageable, in my opinion.

Approaching a lending broker may be appropriate in this case.

So the performance here is really on me.Based on the opinions and realization I’m now leaning towards a middle of the road approach - keeping the SoCal room rental house, get that to market rates (~6% ROE) and 1031 the mountain houses.

Verifying last 2 years of rental history and income extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect.PM us if you’d like to discuss this logical approach in greater detail!