There are plenty of areas in California, especially in-land from the coasts where you can buy houses for the same price and return as a midwest property.  

Using OPM is how you can build an empire.

. - that's certainly one of the dangers of investing in land (taking over a headache, or a junk property), but this only happens when investors buy without doing adequate research.

You need to move your search inland to find good cash flow.

I currently have an Equity Trust IRA wrapped up in land.

My husband and I are looking for a long-term home to start our own family, we both have elderly parents and are not exactly ruthless businesspeople trying to build an empire.

Another issues is with using a quit claim deed customary in land contracts as a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure circumventing foreclosure laws.

By IE are you referring to the Inland Empire?

If you compare what your renting your apartment for at its current condition, vs renting a similar apartment inland and not in orange county (let alone walking distance to the beach) your rent would probably be significantly higher.  

I don't want to exit, i want to leave my kids an empire to build on.