Red flags for me include people who are overly optimistic without considering risks or those who don’t seem to have a clear plan for their contributions to the partnership.

Including most of the big malls like The Galleria in Dallas and the Stonebriar in Frisco.   

The agent "worked" for 2 hours at the most including drive time to the closing.

I just bought my first rental property in Baltimore, MD, and I’m planning to rent it out by the room, including the basement.

Lots of other services are included at no cost (advice, doc review, debt collection letters, etc). 

It’s still a worthy strategy to force cash flow that’s rare to find in SoCal, especially if you can reduce the cost of construction by doing a conversion/using an ADU grant or even buying a property with an existing ADU In general, even if the ADU valuation matches your cost including grants, they are usually not worth it in southern CA in single family zones. 

A colleague recently closed on a 12-unit property in San Antonio and shared that a 6.8% cap rate, combined with lower property taxes, made it a no-brainer.

His reason was the only thing he knew to do with the proceeds was to loan it back out at 12%, and he would be "behind" where he is now in cashflow.His proceeds would have given him options up to and including PE, but he is a simple man and in his case holding was the option for now. 

Additionally, Gilbert and Chandler have emerged as strong markets for short-term rentals, benefiting from a combination of year-round tourism, a family-friendly atmosphere, and proximity to major attractions.

just to be candid, unless you're using some kind of creative strategy... you need a really solid amount of cash including reserves.