BRRRR would be tough in the bay area due to the competition from seasonal flippers and investment companies.

While the STR market is undeniably competitive, it's not saturated.

@Eric DeNardo Definitely possible, but the hardest part is the buy part, there are plenty of wholesalers around ton spending tens of thousands of dollars on marketing to get off market deals, and that's the competition to get those deals, not impossible, but definitely tougher for the average investor that doesn't have the time.   

Look at your competition (not just on AirDNA) and see what they're making.

Would be happy to connect and see how we can assist you, we have some very competitive products on 5-10 units right now on cashout DSCR.

Yea I would look up some hard money lenders in your area of interest and educate yourself on the competition.

I haven't seen CU pricing on investment properties (only primary residence), but they tend to be about 0.5 to 1.0% more competitive than brokers.

DSCR rates and points are likely going to be competitive with the other options if you are thinking long term and don't mind slapping a 5-year prepayment penalty provision on itI think the answer to your options are clearly just model out the total cash flows and projections of each scenario and compare.

If you're able to invest when the market get's more competitive, you'll have a huge advantage compared to the investors sitting on the sidelines. 

It's really easy to beat that competition.