I have a considerable amount of cash tied up for possibly more than 2 months.  

That's a very good point taking the potential further value decrease into consideration (like when running the ARV for pricing it out to the end-buyer), so it makes sense that, like you said, it would have to be a great deal.

No one is entitled to a Pacific Heights apartment, it is up to you to create enough value to afford to live there.My comment on partnership in solving the housing crisis has to do with California making it more attractive for landlords and developers to do business here.

Maybe I'll need to give it some more consideration, haha, especially because we could probably actually go see some properties in person that way and she speaks passable Japanese.

Illinois just legalized recreational weed, however some of my tenants have been smoking it in their apartments long before legalization was even a consideration. 

Considering some SFR properties in Cahokia / Cahokia Heights, Illinois and looking for some recommendations on inpsectors in this area that do a good job looking at multiple properties

Yes - I spoke with Ivan Barratt several years back many times over the course of a year, and put considerable efforts into due-diligence.

Prices are still considerably higher than just a few years ago.

How do you balance these considerations when choosing a location? 

We were so busy surviving, legacy building, financial planning or investing never came up for consideration (for most).