Find out if there is a wall with convenient access to plumbing drains. and if that area could work as a kitchen.

I Thought you had to have the tax deed before you could access the property?  

In reality, it was a no cost sit down with someone my mother worked with in the past who helped her with her current home, and had a lot of the numbers and information of the home and equity we were looking to access.

(And possibly even on the clock.)Yes, I know very well that that some CPAs brag about being accessible and always answering their phone.

They are saying it'll report "crimes at a national level like national sex offender list" but that they can't access county or state level offenses.

If you choose Oakland, I would research landlord tenant laws here and have access to an attorney here - it has heavily pro-tenant laws and the lower priced homes are in high crime areas.

Detached ADU behind SFH, on flat ground with excellent access, in Adam's Point/near Lake Merritt. 

We have a weekly STR newsletter called BiggerStays, which you can access by going to the settings, notifications, and marketing emails section of your profile.

This way you could defer the tax and have access to 100% of the equity to put down on a larger investment. 

Talisker 10 is an accessible single malt if you're coming from the bourbon side where things tend to be much smoother, like the Highland Scotches.