LA has incredible food, incredible locales and is an excellent lesson in getting ahead of the rat race.

Do you believe self-showings, where there is little to no human contact, (to build value in your unit or the PM company), until a tenant has paid an application fee, a race to the bottom on your rent rate?  

@Lewis Kerwin, based on those pictures I'm guessing the PM has a dog in the race aka that they stand to profit from the re-paint they propose.

It seemed like once Trump won the race that a flood of inventory came on the market.

I've read so many posts from people in their early 20s talking about getting out of the rat race before they are even in it.

Saying you want to eventually "get out of Section 8" is akin to saying you want to eventually "get out of renting to [insert a traditionally marginalized race/ethnicity/religion]"

You don’t want small condos that are easily carbon-copy for example as you have no way to stand out from competition and it becomes a race to the bottom.

I work remote full time in IT and want to escape the rat race and live financially free.

And like you note, if there is a lot of generic office space available in a market, it becomes a race to the bottom on rents, as well.While you can be close to bedroom communities, most offices also want convenience to amenities.  

There was this rat race of sellers and crazy bid wars among buyers that gobbled up whatever could be sold and bought on the market.