Some others (France for example) apply taxation on global income, with tax treaty only insuring there is no double taxation (you still pay the highest possible tax).In the case of France, owning houses directly or through a fiscally transparent LLC results in your having to maintain a set of accounts for the IRS, and then another set of account for the french tax authority, following french rental income rules.This means that it makes sense to own directly a house from Hong Kong, whereas owning a property for a french beneficiary is best done through an opaque entity (i.e., an entity that has its own accounts and files for tax separately).

Also, you're in Los Angeles, indeed a hyper-competitive market and way overpriced, not to mention a state govt with a choke hold of regulations on everything an entrepreneur wants to do. 

Also take a good look at your competition's photos and virtual tours and see what they're doing well or not-so-well.

No competition and discounted properties.  

In my market with Class B there's a ton of competition for those properties among casual investors who are willing to pay more because all they want is 2-5 properties vs. an empire and they're willing to pay for it and stop growing. 

There are also many people doing the same thing, so you would need to find a niche or multiple niches where you have a competitive advantage. 

The only way to really know if it's a competitive premium is by shopping the policy.

My market is one of the most competitive in the entire nation, and has the top 5 highest property taxes due to the desire to live so close to NYC.

You want to list lower not higher than your competition. 

Who knew a global financial crisis would hit in 2008-2009?