The only negatives with investing in California are barrier to entry and having to keep more cash set aside as reserves for the tenant risk. 

Thank you so much for sharing your story, I'm glad to see you chose the Success Stories thread because this is truly a success story and here's why •You had enough in reserves or in an emergency fund or the ability to get enough money somehow to fix these issues and that is HUGE in itself.

Ensure the STR’s projected income comfortably covers new debt, even with conservative occupancy rates, and maintain reserves for market changes or vacancies.

However, understanding their requirements—such as down payment percentages, reserve requirements, and loan-to-value ratios—is key to getting approved.One of the biggest advantages of working with portfolio lenders is their ability to fund deals that traditional banks might pass on.

Otherwise, if you have plenty of reserves, then it's probably not worth the time in my opinion. 

Present the pertinent property details efficiently (bullet points, not paragraphs), highlight amenities (in-suite washer and dryer or reserved parking), and include your company name ("professionally managed by...").

There were issues syncing the reservation calendar, and it is nearly impossible to reach a customer support representative with Booking.com as an individual STR owner.

However, as @Chad Hale mentioned, only if you can afford it - meaning both financially and mentally (e.g. how stable are both of your jobs, how long will it take you or your husband to find a replacement job, how much you have in reserves, and whether you guys are in a position to withstand that mental stress, etc.)When you mention 8k monthly, I am assuming that's net profit?

go to lots and lots of meetups.2. talk to those HMLs and find out what their terms are.3. save up enough so that you have a down payment, reserves, and also enough in cash for the hold period. 

There are lots of things that can go wrong for which you should have reserves.