In contrast, Orange County, where I live, rocketed from $271k to $710k, for a 161% increase (beating LA, by the way).  

I currently flip homes in LA and Orange Counties.

I live in Orange Park and can help you out with about anything.  

@David FaulknerNot sure about Orange county, but price is dropping in Bay Area, undeniably....

Being a born and raised Southern California guy, it's always amazed me that people are willing to over extend themselves to live in California where we have the highest state income tax of any other state, home prices are some of the highest in the country and obviously it's not cheap to rent here either, but peeps want the sunshine, etc. lolBased on an article in Forbes surrounding the 5 Best and Worst Cities for Affordable Rents, here were the findings: (Not sure if this information matters much OR will help other RE investors make informed decisions on where they choose to invest for BUY/HOLD properties, but I'm a believer that we all need to be educated and informed, and share with one another, so here you go)  The 5 worst U.S. cities for affordable rent#5 Orange County, California (Average Rent: $1,900; Rent as a share of income: 28%)#4 Los Angeles, California (Average Rent: $1,940; Rent as a share of income: 37%)#3 Manhattan, New York (Average Rent: $3,500; Rent as a share of income: 54%)#2 San Diego, California (Average Rent: $1,750; Rent as a share of income: 30%)#1 Miami, Florida (Average Rent: $1,390; Rent as a share of income: 36%)The 5 best U.S. cities for affordable rent#5 Columbus, OH (Average Rent: $850; Rent as a share of income: 17%)#4 San Antonio, TX (Average Rent: $910; Rent as a share of income: 20%)#3 Kansas City, MO (Average Rent: $870; Rent as a share of income 16%)#2 St.

You don't really need to have anything that amazing.I would say that if you have one of those neon green or orange "We Buy Houses" obnoxious looking things (Which is fine to make a statement to get a sellers attention) I would make a 2nd professional looking card to hand out to potential buyers and other professionals.

Comparing renting to flipping is comparing apples to oranges.

In Orange County CA: A.

Projects and properties and land beat options on oranges and mutual funds.

I live in Orange County, so my market is very high and numbers don't typically work.I'm looking for buy and hold, multi family properties.