Trying to sneak past your zoning or inspector is a quick way to end up on their **** list. 

Verifying last 2-years of rental history and income/employment extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.Tenant Default: 20-30% probability of eviction or early lease termination.Section 8: Class D rents meet program requirements, often challenges to pass Section 8 inspection.Vacancies: 20%+, depending on market conditions and tenant screening.Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciation.Where did we get our FICO credit score information from?

CA is hard all the way around with real estate, but if you're willing to jump through the hoops, San Diego is a good place to have a STR in a CA city.

Consider working with local agents familiar with these markets to identify the best opportunities.

The best strategy I seem to have deployed so far was to contact all my current tenants and let them know I’d give them a cash referral fee of $250 for anyone they recommend to me that goes through the vetting process and successfully moves in.

I think that strategy works best in higher areas or mid term rentals near major employers.  

Our team has analyzed every zip code in the US and Durham, Maricopa (the city), and parts of Raleigh have the best chances from the places you listed but would still be very challenging to cash flow these days.

Listening is one of the number one assets, so if theres ways I can contact other real estate investors and learn from them would mean alot.

Any recommendations, pls send in my way. 

The best protection for you and your investments?