The pitfalls of these kind of scenarios is generally proving to the IRS that the payment was for actual work done.

Obviously aware of the major costs to consider (down payment, insurance, closing costs, etc) but was looking for help on other costs to include during that evaluation.Rehab costs will be specific to each property but just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything major I was missing! 

This will allow you to put down a 3-5% down payment, compared to 25% if you were to rent out both units.

We might be able to do a good chunk of down payment, and were wondering what is the best area to invest in here in the immediate bay area.

Hi Tempu,Some other things to consider other than rate are closing fees, loan term and pre-payment penalty.

Will the asset support the agreed upon payment?

This would require a high down payment and I would be splitting equity with my partner.Option 3 Don’t Buy in San Diego: I am open to investing out of state but would likely not house hack and instead would setup a LTR or STR.

It gives you a chance to discuss options with the tenant such as electronic payments etc that they may not be familiar or initially comfortable with. 6.

Is that $80K total or for a down payment. 

If you can go deeper than 7 feet then by all means go for it, but if you can only dig it out to the legal 7 foot ceilings then it's still worth it since like you said in your location someone will rent it for $1300.