Once you have decided where to invest, go to the development / building department, make a friend there among the managers, and get a copy of the master zoning plan and development ordinance for the area you are considering, and review your options with your land use consultant.  

@Mary Gold, There's so many gaps and necessary info to give you good guidance that any counsel you get from these posts is only going to be reflections on individual bias as it relates to a real estate investing philosophy.Any of your scenarios could be the right one or the wrong one depending on the fact set.Chief among the unanswered questions is what is your cost of living now.  1.

Among the facts to consider are the (Ralph S.

When renting do you think including utilities would be good with the 600$ price range or split them among the renters?

Bank of America is one among the very few major banks that are doing HELOC now.  

The other co-borrower would simply put up the 50% of the down-payment (half of 5% conventional financing) and all other income and expense would be split among the co-borrowers/owners 50/50.

He built all of this up with money earned from his job.I'm convinced that even though engineering falls among the many mainstream prestigious careers, it really isn't for everyone.

Do they want to sell to you or do they want to split it among the family and it be a vacation house for everyone when they die.

In addition, my appreciation stats from the same time (June 2018) show that the average San Diego SFR increased $152K in the previous 5 years.S&P Case-Shiller indicates that San Diego was among the top 4 large cities in home price increases (June 2018).Property and rent appreciation is why San Diego RE has produced outstanding ROI.How do the smart buy and hold RE San Diego investors do even better? 

I think they take 25% of gross which is among the lowest I’ve seen.