You're way ahead of many college students.

I’m aware California is not the best market, with the restrictions and potential new tax coming up, etc, but we have personal reasons to invest there.With that said, we visited a lot of houses in the San Diego area and saw 2 that seem like a potential fit for us: one is a smaller 3 bedroom but a mile from the beach and the other is a 15-17min drive to the beach, but bigger with 4 bedroom and a little cheaper, which would allow us some cushion to invest on a hot tub or potential pool.

Hello Lindsey and Angela,My wife and I visited Aruba last year and we love it.

However, my mother is asking me to visit her to help with some matters, and I'm struggling to balance both responsibilities.My property needs some work to be rental-ready, and I want to make sure it's done properly to attract good tenants and maximize rental income.

Shahaf,If you do decide to go ahead with the conversion, contact your insurance agent and make sure your current coverage for the 2 family will still write the 3 family.  

I don't live in Panama but I know people who invest there and I've visited to form my own opinion.

Quote from @Josh Darley: I'm in a small town and visiting the jail is easy.

You have some good thoughts here, but if you want some in-depth ideas, look up the Thanks for Visiting podcast and search for bedbugs.

This is only possible when you find value add deals.Self storage is only an option for you if you prep ahead of time. 

It has put me way ahead of my goals.Contact me directly if you would like to learn more.