For context, I'm based in the SF Bay Area in CA and looking into buying my first OOS rental after house hacking locally for 10 years.

. - some strategies I've seen California investors use to lessen negative cash flow: house hacking, mid-term rentals (people temporarily displaced from home renovation or insurance reasons like fire), rent by the room, Short Term Rentals. - The ultimate house hack, live in the small ADU unit and rent out the two levels of the main house on AirBnb in San Francisco (I would have thought STRs are oversaturated in S.F. but it worked for them and they stay fully booked).

@Jaycee Greene, I have to learn more about house hacking to take a deal like this. 

I own 27 properties in Greater New Orleans (36 doors) and wholesale around 50 houses a year in this market. 

The smart ones house hack and buy rentals, but the good ones know that their clients come first.

that is accurate.i skimmed the responses and didn't see anyone mention house hacking. 

Good luck  Closing of the house was in late September.

If it does go to probate, hopefully your brothers and you can amicably go the informal route vs formal (I've worked with families in both when buying properties out of probate and informal is FAR easier).Since there's no debt on the house, maybe you could sell with financing or maybe you could even buy out your brothers with financing -- that way you maintain ownership and just pay them a monthly amount.

What are the best areas in Birmingham to flip properties?

Try to find a BRRRR multifamily deal and live in one unit and house hack it then rent the other units out.