The story behind Rommel here is that he was in a very abusive household with some bad guys.

Now keep in mind, median household income here in MN midwest and CA is almost exactly the same, just over $100kyr.

If the former, note per Union City Rent Stabilization ordinance (https://ecode360.com/15397000 is a slightly outdated version), "the terms of this chapter apply to individual dwelling units within a building, including condominium or cooperative units in the process of being converted, or having been converted".

We’re weighing whether to leverage our funds by putting 20-30% down and financing the rest, or to buy properties outright in cash and then pursue a cash-out refinance.I wasn’t previously aware that each person in a household can have up to 10 mortgages under their name.

Maybe it was a bad business decision or maybe they misunderstood that Akron is a modest community with a modest average household income.  

San Diego’s average house hold income is about what you stated, but the median is a surprisingly low (considering US news and world report lists it as the most expensive US city) ~$100k.  

Your tenants who faced with an already tight household budget may decide to rig the issue instead of fixing it properly.  

Keep in mind all these markets are very different than the Cambridge area in terms of tenant base, household income, transit, etc.Happy to connect if you'd like to chat more!

These markets often have strong population and job growth and strong rental demand.But the reality is that even in more affordable markets like Columbus, you'll need about $50k-60k household income just to qualify for a conventional investment property loan (this assumes good credit and reasonable debt).

I start with the location info, growth, median household income, all the vestmap.com DISCERN metrics.