Buying in a high COLA with loss protection is a no-brainer in my book, but only if you expect to relo again.

So, my first caution is it would be healthy not to expect similar results on certain real property investments/deals in the current and near future cycles.That said, there are multiple considerations and clarity needed, before I would act on any investments with your equity.

@Thomas FarrellRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

From my experience you should expect a 10% to 15% of gross revenue for repairs/maintenance. 

So sad...... what is scary too is they only have them 10-20% contained and they are expected to get high winds again which can carry those embers pretty far. you also have to think these fire fighters etc. have been working around the clock and must be exhausted.

The fresh perspective from someone outside of my network is crucial, that way my expectations can be closer to reality if I decide to reach out to new contacts for this opportunity. 

I am trying to figure out how many markets I should focus on at once.

When I'm figuring out how to price an Airbnb I always cross-reference AirDNA or PriceLabs to get an estimate on what the income would be.

These guru's pitch get rick quick with no money down, so people "want to be investors" but fail to start because they had unrealistic expectations from day 1.  

Rank every property you own from worst to best in expected capital expenditures4.