People have failed twice now with the housing bubble and the recent meteoric increase in rates because they were gambling with the rates to save a percentage point.  

Predicting appreciation seems like a big gamble to me.

Even though it is not accurate in all markets, recognize there are markets worse and better than 50% rule and be able to justify any discrepancy.  

(I remember when my dad bought some books from Amazon.com in 1996 or 1997; he wasn’t a pioneer, but he was a fairly early adopter, and immediately recognized the consumer value that Amazon brought.) 

All recent increases and near-term future increases are just gambling.

Just recently, I'm looking for a rental for a client and recognized a property that just recently sold. 

If it is in San Diego, it will likely be a sophisticated value add and not passive.So if you house hack a local property at high LTV, recognize it will cost you significantly more than renting a similar unit.  

However, as I said an investor could strike an honest deal anticipating that the property will sell for more than the taxes owed and be willing to gamble on that.

Just wanted to chime in from a tax perspective, something to keep in mind and plan to have some discussions with your CPA:Using the property for personal use during the year will prevent you from recognizing some expenses on your property.

California does not recognize series LLCs.