People that have "amazing deals" outnumber "people that actually have money to execute on them" by a ratio of 10:1 or 15:1.

It's vitally important to know who you are working with, and have the history of the players involved.

Have you tried searching through local Facebook groups?

More people have always lived there because of the history of economic development near the oceans coupled with tight supply and limited high-density building. 

I live in LA, and have a rental here as well.

I have about $62k in available equity I can pull out.

I have often seen many people love the idea of building, but once they figure out the cost, those ideas change.For reference, here in Chicago, you can expect new builds to be between $200-$275/SF depending on MANY factors...that's just a very rough ballpark!

We have hosted thousands of medium term rental guests and we have completed the eviction on all of 1 guest.

Too many people do not think ahead and borrow 100k but can only pull out a much smaller number to pay back or have to wait longer then they expect. 

Those investors have largely gone elsewhere, and the ones who are joining BiggerPockets are much more responsible and realistic in their viewpoints.