I'm looking to start off in areas with lower costs coming in, preferably under $100k single families but definitely under $200k.These markets are particularly appealing for novice investors, especially those from California, as they offer more affordable options compared to local alternatives.

Again, I like the idea of a new fourplex, it just seems like you’re glossing over alternatives/possible problems. 1) You say you want to hold for cash flow instead of taking $120k cash by selling as soon as it’s built.

It's sad to see so many of these threads after looking through BP today, but it was totally expected based on the insanely low rates a couple of years ago and realizing how commercial lending works.It's a bummer, but there's no such thing as passive investing and there's no alternative to digging into a situation and understanding it for yourself.

Dayton could be a good alternative, offering similar price points.To narrow your options further, consider factors like population and job growth, cash flow potential, and the quality of neighborhoods you’d feel comfortable investing in.

Sometimes that might mean we'd accept a new easement or ROW that was better for the homeowner and still ok for us, as long as we didn't incur survey or recording costs and the homeowner would be responsible for overage, or if the water line work cost $100k on the existing spot and $150k in an alternate spot the homeowner would be responsible for the $50k overage.

Alternatively i could go for being a real estate broker and try to get experience in actual real estate without putting too much of my own skin in the game.

Alternatively, you go to Market B where you can achieve BRRRR'S and buy and renovate $100K houses, each appraising for $140K and you repeat this 4 times over the course of a 2 year period.

There could also be a change to the HOA by-laws eliminating the right to lease and alternatively if too many units are tenant occupied it could impact the warrantability of the financing which would be problematic if you wanted to sell the unit.

I think a conversation with the loan officer's manager to see if a compromise/alternative can be worked out may be beneficial. 

California's housing prices are too high for our budget, and I'm at a loss.I'm seeking your advice on alternative ways to use these funds for good.