We'll be moving back to CA - and in the grand scheme of things, housing will be much more expensive there and most likely a larger barrier of entry $ wise if I were wanting to house hack. 

Perhaps consider Making a one year, three year, 7 year plan for yourself as to what you want to accomplish real estate wise.

But anyway those 12 states generally will have a carve out for TRUE PML who is lending their own money and its usually a limit of something like 3 loans a year no more than 5 outstanding at anyone time.. other wise a license is required even for those not holding themselves out as a lender.

Cosmetic wise, the property looks good, and I’m prepared to make the needed repairs. 

Maintenance, and upkeep wise from my experience there really is no difference in 1 2 3 or 4 unit even.

To the contrary, Investors should wisely consider their portfolio and determine what if any portion they want to deploy and determine their best approach based on their goals.

Quote from @James Wise: Quote from @Arshiya Taami: Im in the southern california area about to do my first fix and flip (mainly cosmetic fix up) and was wondering if there are any permits I am going to need when renovating the house.  

Do you need to do anything legal wise when obtaining other people's money?

Investing for appreciation while avoiding negative cash flow is a wise approach, and house hacking is an excellent method.

@James Wise you can buy both anywhere in the country:)