The STR owners have banded together and are meeting with the town as a group, and it looks like the town will adopt some STR rules allowing and setting guidelines for STRs. 

i'm local and can connect when your time allows.

If your escrow company allowed that to happen, you should go after them.

After 2 years you can apply for a “Rent consideration” (I think that’s what they called it) as long as you still live there and that may allow you to increase rents by more than the annual allowance (probably designed for unit that are very low rents).

Secondly, short-term rentals provide flexibility for owners, allowing them to potentially use the property themselves when not rented out.

But lets say they do allow you.

I like both, but real estate allows you to control your investments much more personally.

I can also allow a tenant to grow with me - just moved a family from a two bedroom to a three bedroom apartment.Personally the only reasons I would choose to invest in multiple markets is a) because I wanted an excuse to go somewhere regularly or b) for economic/geographic diversity.I had the advantage that my home market was good.

On the other hand, I’m hesitant to simply pay down more of a property, as we don’t need the immediate cash flow.Fortunately, both my wife’s job and mine are recession-proof, which allows us to be a bit more aggressive with our investments.I’d really appreciate advice from investors who have experience with frequent moves or military service.

The CA Dept of Insurance allowed a 34% increase in 2024.