@Marco Silva data: population growth, job growth, housing supply, landlord friendly laws, purchase price, anticipated rehab cost, property tax rates, insurance cost, is insurance cost rising quickly, expected rent, rate of rent growth, can someone with the median income afford the rent, diversification of the economy, quality of local schools, crime rates, is the property next door a dump, how many other people are bidding on the property, is there a Starbucks nearby, is there a grocery store nearby, are there multiple property managers nearby in case one fails.There's so many ways to find deals, to name a few: MLS, wholesalers, foreclosure auction, tax sale auction, doing your own marketing through a bunch of different channels like direct mail.

The key with any of these syndications is diversification. 

I would think diversification of channels is your best option.

I have a decent 401k for some diversification with stocks.

Aside from simple diversification, I'm excited about the other positives about the RE asset class specifically, and I'm just soaking up information, looking to learn and network with people in general here on BP and specifically here in the SD market.

This might be more of a polling question...if you had money in the stock market and 401K and savings etc... would you liquidate those sources to buy more real estate or do folks believe in the diversification of investments?  

It is purely a diversification play for the retirement plan, with all proceeds flowing to the retirement plan.An IRA may not lend to you personally.  

Properties are generally much cheaper relative to the rent they pull in, than in NY.3) Lower fixed costs - lower real estate taxes for starters relative to your rent roll, etc.4) Lower variable costs - labor is A LOT cheaper here.  5) Less stringent code enforcement.6) Less maintenance - milder weather, and younger average age of homes make for less maintenance.   7) Diversification - low entry price to buy property allows and investor to manage risk by buying properties in different neighborhoods instead of putting more eggs in one basket.In additional to the benefits I listed above the city is growing so fast that homes rent very quickly, often times before the sale of the home.  

I think that you are in a good place to make a real estate investment living because of its diversification of economy and population growth.  

So I looked for ways to get more diversification with a smaller investment, and ended up with Fundrise and AlphaFlow (through their "Diversification Fund").