Several members have pointed out the risks and pitfalls of buying there and some ways to mitigate those risks.Major risks are: 1. unacceptable, but unseen damage2. title defects, leans, and second mortgages convey to you3. entering the property risks in legal issues and getting attacked4. bidding gets out of hand running prices up near mls valuesStrategies to reduce risk:1.

I tell them all about a month in advance, and use the lowest quote to lean on my provider to match that price.

Honestly, the more I have been listening to the BP podcasts (8 hours DAILY), the more I am leaning on going with the VA loan on a fourplex.

HELOC from my primary home, which I initially leaned towards thanks to David Van Horn's opinion, with a 5.5% variable rate & I believe paid back over 3 years.

I’m a developer and thinking about building a lean solution to do this. 

I subscribe to several wholesale company's lists and the majority of the deals I've seen that come through those channels are very lean... especially if you're looking to do a cosmetic rehab. 

@Bryan Feik Tebow is availableIn Texas, I would lean towards a monkey throwing darts for a valuation over Zillow. 

I emphasize free because you'll never get through the body of free knowledge out there in 10 years. 

The mathematical probability as I stated just leans toward their being more likely to be a life long deadbeat.

I'm a long-time lurker, first-time poster.Had to chime in here because this is very similar to my own situation -- buy in the Bay Area, or keep renting and invest elsewhere.Lately, I've been leaning much more toward the "keep renting and invest elsewhere" option; I'm originally from the Midwest and, even after 2+ years in California, can't get past how expensive real estate is here.