There seems like there is frequently old schools for sale in my neck of the woods....people buy them and try to turn them into apartments or industrial complexes......I have a colleague that buys them up like crazy for some reason.....they don't get very much for them......he bought one just so he'd have a place for him and his buddies to play pick up basketball games......rents the rest out for storage or whatever..... he also rents to religious groups / cults,  that want to teach their beliefs to their kids.......he seems like he's doing fine with them?????  

Not only are you dealing with tenant friendly California law, you're dealing with potential San Francisco muni code which probably requires that you commune naked with the tenant and express your mutual respect in each others belief systems while downloading the latest social media app on your iPhones.

A million was well outside my belief of what I could obtain in my life.

My personal belief is that newbies are especially vulnerable to these types of programs and seminars.  

---> Contrary to popular belief there are far more deals, than short sales, for investors coupled with great returns.

Contrary to popular belief, single-family residential rentals outperformed even the stock market on a risk-adjusted basis in both the premodern and modern eras.

I retain only a single multi family building there.I think the large volumes of luxury student housing is misguided.

You should house hack and learn the ropes before you do any sizeable out of state investing.In contrary to popular belief, real-estate investing is not passive investing.

My personal belief is that the future is brighter in Albany and Troy over Schenectady.

So that can be laid to rest no matter how many gurus or misguided wholesalers repeat those falsehoods.