I'm not sure if I'd like to take a chance in sourcing new tenants in the area and hoping I don't get bad ones, given that the area seems to be one that lots of people stay away from.

Flat fee can work well for people who are knowledgeable in real estate principles and law, have experience negotiating deals, and have time to devote.  

Remember, deals come from people, not licenses.

Nowadays there are a lot more strategies available to a lot more people, and that has changed the avatars of who is investing in real estate.Not every investor is defining "success" in the same way.

I suspect they are using someone else's identity or hiding something negative from their landlord.It is not uncommon for people to have good credit but still have an eviction or other problems with a previous landlord.

Don't forget the people on the demonstration are just sales people.  

CA is expensive and there are reasons why people live there.

@Paul Bogard Any real estate agent who promotes themselves as an agent who is a specialist on renting out bedrooms should be moved to the bottom of the list of people to take real estate advice from..... 

I think BP is a great place to get people publicly together and then they can create a private group.

One day, I would like to syndicate a deal amongst people I know very well to kickstart my RE portfolio as well as provide them with great returns.