Here in TX the soil is mostly clay, and it shrinks and expands with humidity level (thus the need to "water the foundations" as a measure to avoid foundation cracking), so foundation problems are a common occurrence.

Such data has pushed lawmakers to take drastic measures — including implementing upzoning policies across the state.

It's a great temporary measure to purchase the new property quickly, but you really should be looking to pay off the HELOC fast, like with a mortgage on the new property.

If I read your post correctly, there is a main meter that is read and a submeter that measures what goes to the second unit.

I could also add a non PGE meter for measuring the tenan't power line.

I’m interested to hear how people value cash flow vs appreciation vs any other factors that they measure how beneficial their purchases have been.

It's true that there are several challenges currently, including issues related to fraud, the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), and pandemic relief measures for tenants.

The price per square foot quote is a tricky measurement to go by.

Alternatively, once the existing tenant is out, you can lease at market rate.The real challenge of "non-landlord friendly" areas in the form of: your ability to adjust their rent from one lease term to the next, rent control issues that would limit your ability to ever push rent increases over time, any mandates on required renewal options for existing tenants (typically come with rent control measures) and the ease and speed with which evictions are processed. 

Measuring if a property is a reasonable first, second or last investment is not a function of how much you have saved.