Red Stick REI and The RING are the two big ones in the BR area.

Luka, its hard on a 2-dimensional forum to get the full tone, but I think most if not all of the posters on here root for each other no matter what advice is followed. 

If you can't close fast enough or has too much red tape, then you lose the deal to others.

Bay Park / Clairemont / Carlsbad / Oceanside are all top-tier markets that fetch top dollar (see the Yellow & Red).Move your search slightly inland, or further down South and inland, in order to get something done for 1/2 the price, with similar rents (not quite as high, but definitely not 50% less like the purchase price would be)

Are there any potential red flags I should be aware of?

I just paid my attorney 15k today in just fees for 4 entitlement contract red lines and we arnt even under contract yet!  

We found that the pipes were getting clogged because of tree roots that had spread into our yard.

This is all changing very soon with the construction of the Foulger Pratt's new "WestEnd Alexandria" Landmark mall redevelopment, a new 4 million square foot mixed-use redevelopment, including a new 1.1 million square foot Inova medical center already starting, with completion set for 2028.The development notably won the Red Clay Development of the Year award.On top of the +2,000 healthcare worker jobs the development will immediately bring to the area upon completion, the 120,000 square feet of office space will also bring a large number of jobs to the west end of Alexandria.

Don't see any major red flags here, so long as you are comfortable in the low income space.

Quote from @George Red: Hey @Steve Johnson, I found your website but it does not explicitly mention HVAC and I actually was about to ask on the forum if anyone had a recommendation for a furnace repair job... not a big job, one unit in a duplex not working properly.