Patience can be your best friend and if you attempt to over leverage a property it can come back to hurt you.Some will recommend buying subject 2 where you could take over an existing mortgage that could be at a substantially lower rate - but if the lender finds out and calls the loan that could also be very bad.

MA is a very tenant-friendly state so I try not avoid the legal route, even if it costs a bit.

The house I am looking at is a private sale from an older family friend moving into senior living (discounted).

Friends Title is attorney-owned and investor-friendly. https://friendstitle.com/

The owner is a former mortgage underwriter and she is preparing documents herself and having her friend at a title company execute the sale.  

In Phoenix, I might call up a friend who invests in mixed-use properties south of Roosevelt Row, and that friend might know a local title rep who’s been working with out-of-state buyers who like to pull the trigger fast.

Check out FilePlace, where user-created forms are available for free.

- California is not a landlord friendly market. 

FWIW I keep hearing about DataSkip from friends and on here. 

I remember chatting with a good friend of mine, Jared, who once picked up a quirky three-story in Somerville to rent short-term.