A 720 probably would have got me a slightly better rate, but I didn't want to wait and gamble with the market if rates went back up higher.

Some of us have done well in California, not by gambling or being stupid, but by picking up bargains when they present themselves and sitting the market out when there are no deals to be had.  

Hi @Federico Cantero,If your deal does not cash flow from the very start, what you are doing is speculating (gambling), not investing.

But, they didn't take advantage of this and they weren't just going gambling and then not paying their rent :-)

You are gambling with having to pay double damages.

You are taking a gamble on what path their life takes in the future knowing the likely out come if it goes bad.

It's a gamble IMO and goes against the notion that you should make your money in real estate when you buy. 

I prefer SFRs with no HOA too ... higher buy in cost, but generally better appreciation & tenant class, more control, more "value add" possibilities (try doing an addition on a condo :)), and no unpredictable HOA fees or assessments to eat into my cash flow.So, though some think that all that buy RE in CA for appreciation are crazy gamblers, and many in fact are, I myself am incredibly conservative, because of my multiple exit strategies believe that what I am doing is NOT gambling, and have the consistent long term track record of profits (in BOTH appreciation AND long term cash flow) to back it up.

Some people are more into gambling than others, that's all.

Come on, you're smarter than this.This person might be a great person to have play dates with kids - but still be a terrible gamble as far as a tenant in your investment property.