I know other hard money lenders who can do them, but you will be paying +6% higher interest rates on the debt than an average hard money deal.If you go forward with a deal, I would get an SFR with a lipstick rehab.

An experienced local investor or realtor will typically have a better finger on the pulse of a market and potential of a property, than an appraiser.

Hi Henry,Less than an acre. 

(even though buying something else would also put me at the same rate)My understanding is that an owner occupier would pay more for the property than an investor, but i  have leases that end in September, which is not the best time to sell. 

. $250K can go a lot further than an ADU or condo, the risks therein are ADU may be a trend and condos can be costly and out of your control.To recapture capital from the ADU build, you should talk with a lender regarding terms and ensure that cashflow is not a hope.

That way, if something ridiculous happened -- like a neighbor's dog attacked a stranger on my duplex's front yard and the stranger decided to sue me -- I was insured up to my entire net worth.In my opinion, insurance provides better protection than an LLC.

I agree with Bruce that GC can often get better prices than an individual, however, if you are doing multiple deals you will be able to get great prices as well.

I’ve exhausted the obvious competition and wondering if there are any out there who’ve come up with a creative solution or found some cheaper carriers?

This method, though not as exhaustive as a professional CSS, is suitable for smaller properties and still yields meaningful tax benefits.

I'm trying to help out other CA investors (I still think buying locally is better than an inexpensive property OOS where you can't check up on the property)I don't know the Peninsula well but expensive Palo Alto, Los Gatos, Cupertino would be Class A to me.