The two owners allowed an officer to live, rent free, in exchange for having the cruiser parked in the driveway of the unit where the officer lived.

You wake up and theyre chopped liver but large MF is the holy grail. 

Miami has alot of latin transplants and people with serious money moving there for the south beach life.

Four years ago I was a Springfield transplant living in AZ (still do), but now my wife and I are on track to purchasing our first four-plex in Springfield this year, because of Bigger Pockets. 

Like you, I am a new transplant here in Bham and I am just getting started investing as well.

@Michael Miller   your on the right track  if you want it take it... even the best agents have lives to live.. RE

Not only you can live rent free (yes, even in expensive areas like Los Angeles) but you may reap all the benefits of real estate investment.

The problem is in such a desirable area, everyone wants to own a nice property that needs paint and carpet to make a couple extra bucks, this drives up prices hence the ability for the economy to support those who can gut and rehab a place.If I were looking to live rent free, I would run the numbers on the rent and determine how much you can afford in monthly payments, this is your cashflow.

My best advice is to live rent free while saving like crazy.

We're also projected to be the #1 rental growth market in the nation with 10% growth this year, and 8.5% growth next year.A large part of the reason for this is the massive migration of Bay Area transplants who are looking for more affordable living.