If you go this route, do your research.Do not leave it anywhere that will return lower than the anticipated inflation rate.Good luck

If your looking for appreciation then the 3/2. if your looking for cash flow then small multi but the inventory for small multi is so small and prices are inflated.

When it comes to parents, I just ran the numbers for them real quick and then shot them some trends in my area to support that it's all going up, in most areas, faster than inflation.  

As an example let’s use 3% local inflation such that max rent increase is 8%.  

Are you also expanding your rental income for inflation? 

I was going through the AirDna data and it seems promising but I believe their numbers may be over inflated.

If it is cashflow and a hedge against inflation and recessions then buying a townhome probably won't satisfy your goals.If you're just trying to make money or invest in real estate in general then the townhome might not be a bad idea.

Not being in property management for their primary revenue stream reduces the chances for inflated fees and trip charges, 3.

As your income grows with inflation, cash flow will increase over time.

If it cash flows, and you decide to self manage to make it cash flow more, that's great, but if it doesn't cash flow without you it's probably not a deal.Option 3: Same opinion as option 2.Option 4: I like this one, but refer to option 1 about doing plenty of research and not putting all eggs in 1 basket.Option 5: (You missed this one so I figured I'd throw it in for good measure) Real estate notes, probably not in the Bay Area (though possibly if you got lucky)  You can pick a market not so inflated that still looks solid for appreciation and population growth and fund a fix and flip buy or possibly a builder (both shorter term hopefully) or a fix and flip to owner finance guy like me for a longer term safer returns.