The other California investors with more moderate incomes bought years ago and have built wealth from 30+ years of appreciation and small mortgages and their rental income supplements their pension or Social Security and retirement accounts. 

means deeding it back to the lender if they will accept it.. easier said than done they may want you to sign a prom note for any loss they could incure.. the thing to do is get the best cash offer you can then ask bank to do short sale if you dont have enough cash or equity to sell . 

However, sellers currently on the market are more likely to accept lower offers, giving us some room for negotiation.Rental Market TrendsThe charts below are only relevant to the property profile that we target.Rentals - Median $/SF by MonthRents held steady from October to November, bucking the seasonal trend.

Or if your accepting to be very hands-on as owner-operator. 

Hence the countless posts on BP where the investor got burned by accepting the lowest bid.

Tenant clearly accepted these responsibilities. 

You can't accept anything over the allowed budgeted price.

So how do I socialize the benefit of doing something like taking a 200k ADU construction loan to add $X in top line and $Y after servicing the new note, but with an increased property value etc etc? 

Water penetration can also include roof failures or pipe bursts that allow water to leak into or damage your home.Either have the repaired area researched by your local expert and accept it.

I'm not a huge fan of constant buying and selling - it's just too much damned work at this point in life - but for sure I would jettison anything that wasn't making an acceptable profit, and if you have any RE you should know this number.