Personally, I just rip it down.

I haven’t done my first deal yet, but through hiring a local contractor to build my personal residence I had this idea that I don’t hear people talking about.

Go in person to the planning department and talk to them.

Quote from @Daron Williams: I just invested in a tax deed here in texas it was a beautiful lot right on lake sam rayburn. i have it on the market for sale the only problem is you have to have two lots to build on.. i found the person that owns the lot to the right of me and there willing to possibly sale there lot the only problem is i dont have the money or the credit  to purchase it.

The owner was motivated due to personal circumstances and wanted to avoid the hassle of listing the property publicly.

Personal criteria, building criteria and area criteria will all affect the way a deal appears on paper. two 100 unit apartment complexes, one in an A area and one in a C+ area will have very different financial breakdowns and interest groups.Want to know if a deal is good (for you)?

I was wondering if there are any recommend in-person meetups in the LA area.

As a neighbor, personally I don't care if someone smoke a little weed every now and then, but if they are smoking non stop 25 times a day, you might lose a good tenant over that. 

You will have to pay higher personal income tax rate, versus waitingtill after one year for lower Capital gain tax rates.

I wouldn’t personally recommend it, as office vacancy rates are currently quite high.