I could fly home to take care of my parents with zero notice and stay for a month, or two.

If you look at @Michael Plaks article you'll notice that the distribution isn't taxable. ...

You can give notice to one of the tenants, then move in and rent out rooms to further cut your living expenses.Yes, something I've considered but does require me to move from CA to TN, so big life change. 

When you're looking at rental comps, I'd look for homes that also don't have a driveway to get an idea of how long it took to find a tenant and if you notice a big difference with the comps. 

Im noticing investors are very different and each have different criteria for what they are looking for in a flip.

Those are the hardest to notice because they dont cause any damage and drain normally.

Failure to receive notice in the mail does not count its up to the owners to pay their tax..

I just noticed your auto seems a bit, well junky.

Just keep the amount within any local rules and give proper notice.

@Sanjay Singh but I’ve noticed that many houses there are within my budget ....Can't comment on the Indianapolis market but generally speaking buying real estate in a particular market because the housing is within your budget is not a valid reason to invest.