Unfortunately it was 45 mins to my property and we decided it was geographically undesirable long term.

Most are undesirable, some fare, none good in my opinion.Is it possible after reno work to target a better quality tenant demographic or is it in a D grade area.Why is the place paid off, you should be leveraged since this property would likely cash flow with 100% financing.

I hear a lot of talk about how 2% is near unobtainable unless it is a c class or in an undesirable neighborhood..  

(This makes it undesirable to sue you since you have little equity) Once its paid off you might want to do it then.You could add an umbrella insurance policy if you want an other layer of protection.

Due to the popularity (lots of people) it made the area undesirable to me.

Hey guys,I've been doing the numbers for a few properties, and I'm wondering what type of CAP rates you usually tend to want with a decently maintained clean house with hardly any issues.Some of the homes that I've recently looked at have decent CAP rates but the amount of work that needs to be put into them makes them undesirable (Water damage, caving in floors, Leaks and Roofs going bad).What is a CAP rate you usually end up getting with your properties and or look for in any properties? 

There are more issues with the house including bathrooms and such, but the gist is, it's very undesirable.

You said , at least one of the houses is in a undesirable area.

It will just take 2-4 years of ownership before this fire sale will start, maybe sooner if they get screwed by an undesirable tenant or a few months of vacancy.

However, since you mentioned California and lots located in desert-like zones, I would say that those are proberly undesirable ones for you.