I can't speak on California since I don't invest or live there, but what I will say is that there are numerous sub-markets in the US that need to be examined based on their unique value propositions.

But if there are any preferred equity shareholder, it's pretty clearly stated as such.Also, anytime a deal has pref equity, I always do a much closer examination.

I am posting on here not knowing if I even picked the right category, but I just passed my Real Estate exam in Michigan and have no clue what to do now.

Again, others might feel differently here.3) property level due diligence: (takes seconds to weeks per deal): here is where I drill in with the low-level details.a) pro forma popping: I examine all the assumptions, and see if they are overoptimistic or not.

If an owner owns a property free and clear, they have no debt service and they have no replacement reserve unless they decide to voluntarily set aside money each month into a separate account.But let's examine one step further. 

Again, others might feel differently here.3) property level due diligence: (takes seconds to weeks per deal): here is where I drill in with the low-level details.a) pro forma popping: I examine all the assumptions, and see if they are overoptimistic or not.

Evaluate the areas very well, and examine your rehab costs.

Even that small extra payment made a difference I could se, so I examined my spending and found additional cash I could pay as principal only.

I saw this as an opportunity to negotiate an even lower price, as the owner seemed quite keen to sell, but at the same time I worried that I was missing something obvious (the usual beginner's nerves I guess).

I can imagine going to the unit every week myself to fix the problem and the tenants would accuse me of having the nerve to rent them such a place.