Hi Anthony-You asked about the best ways to find off-market deals for your in-laws to buy and move into and you are focussed on the Santa Barbara, CA area which I have been to and it is gorgeous.It kind of reminds me of an Ann Arbor on the ocean. :)Anyway, I like your strategy of driving and looking for houses in need of repair and sending handwritten letters and contacting rentals for the reasons you gave.

I wanted to see what markets have both a relatively high rent-to-price ratio and high appreciation.

How do you identify emerging markets before they become over saturated?

With rates high, I don't see much changing in the market as buyers struggle to afford a mortgage. 

@Nadia Jones Starting and running a fund is a separate business because it's something that you need to actively market for and regularly work on attracting capital to invest in. 

@Michael NguyenA lot of it depends on your market and what is more available and attractive. 

I'm looking to pickup some multifamily real estate but the barrier to entry is crazy in my local market.

That expertise is crucial to getting your house market-ready.

Are the units rented at market rate, or is there room for rent increases?

Since you are new to the market, you can look at what the top rent pulls look like and cater accordingly on the design.You always want to build relationships with contractors, but that takes time and you always need a solid bench, just like in basketball because some days your starting plumber just doesn't show up and you need to bring in the backup.The rates are the rates and they aren't going way down soon so it's just part of a different metric to evaluate in your new market.Good luck!