Refinancing has been working well lately but at some point the interest rates will rise and a refinance will result in further negative cash flow.I am pro So Cal investing but unless the properties continue to have double digit appreciation this one will have low/no return (too low for the effort).  

Let's see what he said just yesterday about this market:***********************************************************************************It is interesting to see how people are pitching properties in this market especially now that inventory has picked up, prices are stagnant, and the double-digit gains are no longer to be had.

I will summarize that details here for everyone.Neighborhood class :BProperty Type: SFRProperty Management Fee: $95 per month regardless the price of the propertyProperty Management: In HouseMarket: Suburb ChicagoAverage occupancy: 3 to 4 yearTenant Type: Blue Collar workers with familiesRenovations: All the big ticketed items + cosmeticsCash on Cash Return: Using BP calculator with very conservative number - 8% Vacancy, 10% Cap EX and 10% Maintenance, we know we can get a property from their portfolio which will generate double digit returns.Finance: leverage with 20% downProperties to property manager ratio is also impressive.They do have eviction experience.

The digit after the dash on HUD's counters is supposed to indicate the number of bids (not bidders).

On top of severely compressed Caps (5%ish), you're lucky to hit leveraged cash on cash returns in the upper single digits.  

Essentially, my family has been here since the 80's, not born here, but transplanted :) Software sales & digital marketing by trade and fairly new to real estate investing, but hungry to learn and take action now!  

Meanwhile your lender sacrifices the opportunity cost of not having the money at work in a successful project with an experienced rehabber who is happy to pay a double digit rate of return because he understands leverage and has an efficient process that gives him a much larger pile of profit by borrowing a portion of the cost instead of limiting himself to only what he could handle with his own capital.

Couple hundred bucks a door monthly cash flow, double digit ROI, and yes the prices appreciate and you build equity.

If you have any concerns about managing it, there are lot of great options out there for self-managing if you decide to go that route; aside from providing the basics (listing, tenant screening, digital lease creation, rent collection, and maintenance tracking) some services also offer your tenants additional capabilities which makes it an easier sell on your end when getting them to transition over (ie. their ability to report on-time rent payments to the credit bureaus).

I am sure you know that the housing market has had increases in value in the double digits in many states for several years.