I have a massive pros and cons list but it basically split down the middle with how high the cost of living is in NJ compared to PA.

There was a MASSIVE dislocation between purchase price and rental price (there still is, compared to the rest of the nation).Fast forward; bought, renovated and now manage about 600 of them, all in Chicago area.

Yes, tech jobs played a role to a degree in San Fran, but NYC not quite sure.I would attribute the massively price appreciation more to international equity and housing markets after the recession.

While SD might experience massive appreciation, your wallet won't see it.Now, compare that to another growth market like the Raleigh metro ... that same original $500k can be split into 2 townhouses that will kick off $400-500/mo in positive cash flow ... use a portion of the $90k that you were going to sink into the negative SD condo and pick up a third unit. 

Southern California is massive and has great areas and awful areas. 

Perhaps there's a massive disconnect between himself and his team in Indianapolis?

I started managing rentals in 2010 and it remained a strong market in my area. there were the poster child areas that experinced massive non pay and vacancy.these were1.

Massive supply and demand economics which give them massive appreciation potential. 

Having photos of the unit before each stay has been massively valuable.

Not sure if it's the best thing to do for investing but I know it gives me peace of mind coming from LA where the homeless population is massive, rent is high and rising and debt to income ratio is bananas there.