In CA currently only MF properties are rent controlled.

I am a twenty year plus licenses GC who has built over 100,000,000. in commercial and residential construction in the NY, NJ, PA, CT and CA marketplaces.

You will need to look at CA building code.

I lived in a college town and student rentals did very well as did STRs for parents coming in to visit their children.  

google "all inclusive Deed of Trust" fantastic CA document we used all the way back in the early 80s If I'm not mistaken though a wrap would require the 2nd buyer to also agree to financing terms; which would be the same as me (the 1st buyer). 

The condo I'm selling in CA could sell for approximately $600k, and I was thinking of rolling that into 2 condo/townhomes valued at about $250k each, then doing DST for the remaining around $100 for the 1031.

@Candice Coates I actually co-host since I still live in CA for now

@Xuming Yu  Hope this helpshttps://legaltemplates.net/form/quitclaim-deed/california-ca...

Both California and Texas have pros and cons.

(For context, it's a 2700 sf 4 bd 3 bath house in an upscale Northern California suburb.)Kitchen A: Traditional, features a 48 in fridge, 36 in cooktop, window sink (no view), pantry.Kitchen B: Designer, features a 60 in fridge, 48 in range, large kitchen window (no view), sink facing living/dining room; unfortunately no pantryKitchen C: A Little Bit of Both, features a 48 in fridge, 48 in range, sink facing living/dining room, pantry, unfortunately there's no window.Total countertop space is roughly the same (22 ft)  in all three layouts.