If you work a day job in addition to your plans to pursue real estate in this way, then focusing in 1 city/MSA will drastically reduce your time spent focused outside your job, allowing you to keep your income high, your job safe, and your problems simpler.

By trade and training, I’m a marketing, finance, and strategy guy, but at heart, I’m an entrepreneur who loves working with people and building meaningful connections.Real estate has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and now I’m diving in to carve my own path. 

I think this principle applies to everything in life.

If you're considering just "winging it" please watch Pacific Heights starring Michael Keaton so you can get an idea of what life will be like inside the same building as rent control tenants whose rent control you are trying to terminate.

Quote from @Karl Kauper: The tenant should figure his own life out.

With some of my clients, I've seen discounts of 30% to 90%.Here is a real-life example: I invested in a $50K note; it was second TD but with significant equity (over $200K) protecting my investment. 

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

Do that every 2+ years, sell tax free, repeat, and you can be set for life ("live in flips"). 

I talked to numerous California investors in real life and phone/Zoom calls who have lost money in far away OOS markets, mostly Midwest markets (e.g. repairs, capital expenses, bad tenants, properties vandalized while under renovation, evicted tenant stole all the appliances, property managers with high fees or overcharging for repairs).

Just saying it is just a speculation doesn’t make you go anywhere in life.