For rentals, you can check for up-and-coming neighborhoods with strong rental demand.

Low property taxes, landlord friendly, weather is reasonable, close to Lake Tahoe and lots of enjoyable areas in CA, strong appreciation, strong rents, population growth, diversified job growth, limited land allows for significant appreciation outlook over time. 

You've already got a strong foundation with your STVR homes and hands-on experience from building your own places.

Connecting with others will accelerate your learning process in a strong market with numerous opportunities.Good luck!

I’m working with a build-to-rent development there that’s seeing strong appreciation growth, similar to what we’re seeing in Gardner and Olathe, KS.

The implications of taking money from a retirement account(if not Roth) is that the distribution will be considered income and potentially subject to a 10% penalty.In my opinion, real estate investments and securities within a retirement account are used towards your later years.So it doesn't matter whether it is in one bucket or the other.If you are subject to the 10% penalty, I would only take out a distribution if you strongly beleive your return from real estate will be several percentage points higher than what you can invest in with your IRA.For example, if your return within the IRA is about 8% and you can make 10% in real estate, I would consider doing the distribution because the extra return will pay off the penalty over a few years.Best of luck

@Haiden WelchReal estate investing requires hands-on experience and a strong foundation in financial markets, business management, and real estate principles.

This makes mobile home parks a smart, resilient investment choice.For those willing to look beyond the traditional property investments, mobile home parks offer the perfect blend of low risk, low maintenance, and strong returns—a true hidden gem in real estate.

There are usually, plenty of issues with new homes, I would strongly recommend still having a home inspection before closing (if you haven't had a formal home inspector come out) and making the builder address any AND all issues, it's a new home, it should be near perfect.

I currently househack in Fort Lauderdale and I would very strongly recommend it especially for starting out.