After assembling a lot of bed frames, I prefer the Zinus brand, and I would recommend contract grade furniture.Don't forget to sign up for pest control and both a renter's and landlord policy on your insurance.Hi Miguel - I’m also looking at the midtown  Sacramento area for multifamily…what is “contract grade” furniture please ?

You can also look into REITS but I prefer owning my asset and not sharing with anyone I'm not in business with. 

But the answer for everyone may differ.Here are the personal attributes I see in those able to achieve a higher than market ROI, enough higher to be able to “scale”.1- Knowledge of real estate principles, real estate law and real estate finance2- Minimum 3 -5 years full time, or near full time experience directly related to real estate investing3- Ability to utilize technology for increased efficiency, capacity, and accuracy4- Excellent hired legal counsel and excellent hired marketing help5- Established method(s) of obtaining consistently high QUALITY deal flow6- Ability to manage and choose people who are NOT employees: Attorneys, Appraisers, Mortgage Brokers, Real Estate Brokers, Title Companies, Surveyors, Marketing Specialists, Accountants, Contractors, Consultants, Property Managers7- A VERIFIABLE track record of success8- Ability to identify, analyze, and negotiate a deal that can be “worked” for “enhanced” ROI9- Some type of competitive advantage; for example for me it’s my ability to analyze and identify mortgage loans that are actually less risky than all other lenders believe (on the investing in debt side), and on the real property side it’s my ability to analyze”pull the trigger” with LESS information than other investors need,  combined with the ability to pay cash, or raise significant capital almost instantly as well as being able to obtain loans at the lowest prime customer bank rate with no recourse or personal liability.  

That's it, but a) print out a page for each property you think is comparable, b) make the list of repairs long and inclusive of everything you've done. c) Put larger items first like kitchen remodel......and don't just say 'kitchen remodel', list things like 'custom backsplash tile/Bosch appliances/recessed can lighting/pot filler/etc. d) Cite the price/value of the work done, and don't be afraid to be generous.

We'd prefer not to have anyone else on the loan - just my son. 

I prefer new Orleans, for example.  

I suspect build cost in CA are closer to 400 a foot than 200 like many other areas and of course far higher for the custom homes.

So cash flow is my least preferred of the RE return sources.  

SIH has some marketing gimmick with the Real Estate Guys where they bus unsuspecting retail customers around to the sites to see home being built.

Making such a hasty decision on two weeks worth of knowing these people as your customers seems like a rash decision to me, but I don't know exactly what's going on, and sometimes personalities just do not mix well together.