@Chris Morris have ALWAYS seen bad "deals" from rookie wholesalers that really don't understand what they are doing to provide value to the industry.It's getting worse because the real estate market has recovered from the 2010 Crash, yet many are still using tactics & methods developed during this time.Everyone in the industry needs to go back and look at what was being done BEFORE 2010 and start using those methods, updating them with current technology.

OK being a life long CA and selling and developing land here for 50 years..

There is so much growth here - population growth, job growth, and companies moving and developing here.

Follow economic trends and determine which areas have the best opportunity for economic development and prosperity.At the end of the day, you're looking for investments with the highest returns. 

If the project is in Canada then I would look to an attorney that understands international law as it could be more complex.Personally for something along the lines of what you are doing I would look to partner with another developer vs trying to raise the capital as that will be less labor intensive.

those that dont know CA have no clue how much development is there and there is no way its going to crash like a detroit or something.  

Many of the surrounding communitie are up and coming with a lot of developments happening. 

Generally larger commercial properties and shopping centers are easier to classify with hard and fast rules, but to the points above the residential areas really move very quickly and have way more nuance than most people care to admit.zip codes are generally way too large for my liking at least in my market to provide any kind of insights other than macro level economics but even then highways or rivers that cut through a zip code can end up with totally different trade areas.we can get pretty granular with cellphone data and with grocery center data to understand the trade areas and their true boundaries, but that kind of data pull is generally only cost effective for investors doing larger scale projects or developments, and honestly we still just end up getting on the ground and feeling it out, so I generally tell people that the money is better spent on a plane ticket and weekend trip in the area you are looking rather than any kind of "trade area" level data studies.and generally B class in 1 area means something different than another. 

I do expect greater development of condos and townhomes and higher density single family communities. - Acreage will continue to be a very hot commodity.

I personally recommend checking Columbus OH - lots of job growth, population growth, and major companies moving and developing here.