I have a list of different States and Counties with the latest % changes but just don't know how do they translate into REI - whether is it a renter's market?

There may be ethical reasons to not assign a contract (my personal opinion is that (1) if the contract provides seller financing or other terms that rely on the performance of the buyer after the closing, it is unethical to switch buyers without the seller's permission or (2) if you haven't properly vetted the assignee or used language to prevent them from also assigning to someone who can't perform and you are not able to close if they fail to, that is not fair to the seller) but that is a personal opinion not a legal distinction.I'd be interested in taking assignment of your contract if it is a truly profitable deal. 

I wouldn't rely solely on the word of another tenant.  

My goal is to obtain $70,000 in passive income with a long term buy and hold strategy withing the next 10 years.I want to achieve this so that I can comfortably travel the world and gain life experiences, spend more time with friends and family, and pursue any other goals or interests without having to rely on a full time job.

Never rely on friendship and a hand shake.

So when the deals are happening then buyers have lot's of cash stuck in properties with low or no leverage that are hard to access.The one that used long term debt at higher LTV's now has more cash sitting on the sidelines for the down turn to scoop up properties and has to rely less on financing to make it happen.

You will have negative cash flow and will only be able to rely on appreciation to profit....extremely risky.Additionally if plan A is a serious option for you then you are a very low risk investor and may want to reconsider directly investing in real estate and may be better off putting your money in a REIT.A investor, assuming they have the ability to move, would sell the CA property and move their money to where it can actually produce positive cash flow.

So yes, always rely on prevailing local market conditions....but expecting some huge correction, they simply do not happen very often.And looking at simply the price of a property is a mistake.

If it is zillow or the assessors office they typically can't be relied on for true market value.

I soon realized that this arrangement will not work as I could not physically inspect the property and could only work on MLS properties since I relied on an agent to do all the hands-on work.