I've invested with the same group for the past 7 years but when I joined they had been already in business as a real estate fund for 3.5 years and asked to meet withy the fund manager who took the time to tour me personally in California and hen a year later I went to see one of their bigger projects for assisted living facilities. 

This is a fine example of where to research out of state investments as the housing prices to purchase are still reasonable and low (not like California where I am and entry level house SFR is a million dollars). 

.- Bigger area rug. 9x12 for King, 8x10 for QueenBedroom 2- Change location of TV to across the bedBedroom 3- This bedroom needs an optimized layout-If it’ll fit, scrap the bunk bed and do 2 twin beds along window wall with a table in betweenBathroom 1 & 2- Wall mounted blow dryer- Wall mounted body wash. shampoo, conditioner dispenserPatio- Scrap mini golf for fire pit seating for 6- Install canopy shade- Better design for photo-op wallOverall, great property, great location.

In CA I took a crash course with Sharon Butler and I passed first try with an 86%.

Without the high leverage you reduce the top source of return in CA RE which is achieve via the appreciation on a high leverage property.  

The condo I'm selling in CA could sell for approximately $600k, and I was thinking of rolling that into 2 condo/townhomes valued at about $250k each, then doing DST for the remaining around $100 for the 1031.

If convicted of bank fraud you may be facing large fines of up to $1,000,000 and/or imprisonment of up to thirty years.Posted without comment.Okay, so one comment:Just because someone in your community says it's okay to do, better clear it with the feds first, or you may be talking with them later..This reminds me of a Subto in California that went bad and wasn't handled correctly. 

With the fires in CA, you can expect materials and contractors to become even more expensive. 

Quote from @Marcus Ball: After struggling with local rehab properties in California, I switched to build-to-rent developers and chose a 1031 exchange.

Many of my California investor friends believed the same things about CF OOS.