Many people I speak with initially gravitate towards the "cheaper" areas because "numbers are better." 

I mentor several people, mostly those who are just starting out.  

I never understood why people would have a flip, boost the value by tens of thousands of dollars, then sell it as opposed to keeping the equity and putting a tenant in there. 

Would help if you stated what questions you had so people could reply right away.I have knowledge on HELOANs but not direct experience.

Hi Devin, Have you ever considered that instead of America needing smaller homes that are more affordable, that America needs more higher paying jobs so that people can live the actual American dream versus having to settle for less and less and less (Has George Carlin pointed out in his classic speech about this). 

Returns are great if you get a good area and build a solid team but thats going to take some leg work in picking the right people that see's your vision. 

That will be a determining factor for where it makes sense for you to purchase.Regarding waiting - bear in mind a lot of people were predicting rates in 2024 would be in 5% range or low 6s, which didn't turn out to be the case.

We probably know some of the same people.

Basically you can't have the yard be higher than 6 inches below the window sill (otherwise it would v difficult for people to exit out of this window in case of an emergency). 

. - 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).