Even if you own a property in TX, you are conducting business in CA because you live here, collect the income here, etc.

Through proactive maintenance, efficient tenant placement, and careful financial management, I optimized rental income and ensured a steady cash flow.

After five years you'll have earned $90,000 in rent income and gained $34,000 in appreciation.Buy four houses with $50,000 down on each.

I own a home currently with a conventional loan.

Quote from @Jacob Sherman: you can utilize no income no doc construction loans . fund 50% of the land 100% of construction upto 65% ARV .

Go straight into focusing on creative finance, subject to, and minimal cash down deals and build from there.I want to hear your thoughts on what direction to take here if you were in my shoes given these constraints (full time job and a few thousand saved) and you want to optimize for passive income first, then value appreciation?

Look at the current reviews and see how people feel about the place.

Many of these are low income, government subsidized housing units.

@Ming HuangRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

i wish i had better news for you but it's probably not feasible in the short term to replace your W2 income with rental income.