On the surface, reducing your living expenses plus adding appreciation sounds like a no brainer, but Property Tax, Insurance, Cap Ex, Repairs, Maintenance and vacancy are all going to chip into the $1,000 per month "advantage" that buying is offering.Personally, we have owned two homes in southern CA (Our primary residence is only on the outskirts of LA and we owned a second home in Big Bear).

Personally, I think that the Westside - especially further out areas like Bridgetown/Cheviot, Delhi and still in the good school district of Oak Hills - are really going to appreciate as folks get priced out of the Eastside and downtown/OTR.

I have seen significant growth in Folsom, however Elk Grove has grown much more and due to geographic limitations Folsom and the surrounding unincorporated areas such as El Dorado Hills, Granite Bay, Fair Oaks, etc will likely continue to see less growth.

North Linden, South of Main, Vassor Village, Woodland Park, MT Vernon, Milo-Grogan, Franklinton, Merrion Village, Hungarian Village, Southern Orchards, Driving Park, Olde Towne East, Franklin Park, King Lincoln, Old Oaks, Livingston Park are all but not limited to some areas in Columbus, Ohio I think will gentrify quickly and make for great long term buy and holds. 

North Linden, South of Main, Vassor Village, Woodland Park, MT Vernon, Milo-Grogan, Franklinton, Merrion Village, Hungarian Village, Southern Orchards, Driving Park, Olde Towne East, Franklin Park, King Lincoln, Old Oaks, Livingston Park are all but not limited to some areas in Columbus, Ohio I think will gentrify quickly and make for great long term buy and holds.

Intel is investing $20 billion to build chip manufacturing plants in Licking County, which is projected to create 30,000 new jobs.

And he put stickers on the wall for his kid, so I had to repaint the chips and that's like $400.

My way of avoiding this problem is by investing in above median priced single family homes; they have a way lower headache factor.The other solution is to just refinance, pull money out invest in whatever, let inflation chip away on that loan and bring in a good PM.

Purchase price: $299,000 Cash invested: $23,000 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom single family home in Red Oak, Texas with tons of upgrades including:*Brand new white and red oak wood floors*New windows throughout the house*Updated kitchen*Updated bathroom*New carpeting*New drywall throughout the house*Fresh paint*New electrical*Fixed foundation *New solid core doors What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I have the opportunity to purchase a mostly rehabbed 4/2 for $75K in the Oak Hill/Warren area (sorry I don't know the area but I believe around those neighborhoods.