I have heard a lot of investors investing out of state like Ohio, Memphis, Texas, Seattle, etc, but rarely they say they have apartments and anything similar in nature, in California.

Do our regular rent increase and then add on an extra $100 or $200 because you have to chase the rent Let the tenant know now that their rent will increase significantly if you have to chase them for the rent every month. 

This is especially true the finer the market is.I see a lot of different strategies from serial investors I work with regularly, and would be happy to learn more about your finer details as such.

Attend local meetups regularly.

Not sure if this applies to you but if you are planning on building lots of units it could be a natural fit. 

Backstory:We rent the ADU out regularly via STR or MTR and live in the main house currently and are looking to size up.

This is so abusive and extortionist in nature, and so disconnected from any sense of reality I'd really have to question the general intelligence of the persons presenting such. 

Houston isn't making 4 unit buildings regularly.

Also, Z Wave and Zigbee radios are in sleep mode 99% of the time whereas WiFi radios are communicating pretty regularly.

They are not as scary as some make them out to be, you just want to be certain that you can regularly contribute to the principal of the HELOC/home equity loan (on top of your monthly interest only payments), so you can pay the balance off within a reasonable amount of time.