I am not trying to be negative or a Karen, but being real so you can analyze all your options on what course of action you should take for your business and what risk level you are comfortable with.

Avoid negativity, man. 

Let's assume you are only looking at deals that you could buy cash.The biggest factor that goes into the decision is whether you are taking on positive or negative leverage.  

what i'm finding is that, if i BRRRR successfully and then refinance into a DSCR loan, almost every property is break even or slightly negative. 

It is a tough buy and hole RE market everywhere but markets like San Francisco are particularly challenging in the short term due to the poor cash flow (negative cash flow).  

Keep in mind that many of these cheap homes are selling for less than a third of their insurance replacement value, which really means that the land has negative value - let that sink in.Most buyers who can actually qualify for a mortgage will get a PA for $200-300k and desperately want to upgrade their life.

However, when you factor in the HELOC, we have a negative / break-even cash flow (HELOC payments are about 25% of the revenue from both).

Just remember: most negative reviews are written by problematic tenants.

1) Check with state building dept to see if they have a valid builder's license and if any negative issues with it. - PRO TIP: many builders lose their license then create new company in name of wife or other relative/friend.2) Check Better Business Bureau, but don't assume all the complaints are legit. - If there area MANY, then that is a problem.

On the negative side you will need to show how you will use the property to generate sufficient income.