San Diego will have a ton to go to with how many people are in the area investing.

Action will always trump inaction - I have made mistakes, but this deal has taught me a ton, AND we are making money on the deal.

My question is - what is the best strategy for utilizing my home equity and buying my first rental?

Utilities are typically $350-450/month for a 3/2.If you have any more questions feel free to reach out!

A couple of things in regards to saving on taxes by utilizing depreciation correctly.

This way you're able to utilize conventional loans, each of you are allowed 10 of those.

While it is probably well-intended, it is horrible regulation.We've seen a ton of this. 

If you're planning on utilizing a self-showing model with cameras you'll need to make sure you disclose to prospective tenants viewing the property that there are cameras on premise.At scale, we've coordinated 160,000+ on-demand/self showings with smart lockboxes over the past 5 almost 6 years with very few issues.

Also, verify ALL utilities (don't believe that dang Realtor for one min Wink ) go to the county for sewer and water.

There's a ton of posts on this site mentioning the use of LLC's.