There are multiple ways to utilize equity without paying taxes, such as cash-out refinances, HELOCs, and 1031 exchanges, making appreciation a powerful wealth-building tool.Many people lump all of California into one bucket, but it’s a massive state with many distinct markets.

Local government is NOT "Big Government", there is a distinction between these 2. 

.,) relative to all other applicants, but after showing them the property you have the distinct sense they'll be a difficult, high maintenance/game-the-system/treat-your-property-poorly tenant.Essentially: how do you stay on the right side of the law rejecting a tenant that appears to be the best applicant on paper, but to whom you don't want to rent based on unpleasant personal interactions or impressions that they would likely take poor care of your property?

If you care to learn about the distinctions, read these posts:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/517/topics/1215989-expl...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51-tax-legal-issues-con...2.

I had a distinct advantage over my competition who had to do their own courthouse searchs.

Thank you for your thoughtful feedback—it’s clear that I need to clarify the distinction between my approach and the traditional perception of “cheap rent.”

There's lots of definitions and distinctions between the two that get thrown around. 

You can't do both at the same time, so there is a distinct change in strategy when you have to say it's enough.

The northland (as north of the river is often called) is also a burgeoning home to massive data centers including one built by Facebook’s parent Meta and also has charming and distinctive downtowns including North Kansas City and Parkville.

If you can't make a distinction, then you haven't defined your criteria well enough yet.