But, the self-sufficiency test for FHA loans can be really difficult in SF, meaning that the market rent from units you will not occupy must be sufficient to pay for the mortgage payment. 

And how much of a down payment do you have available to invest in the property?

It's probably going to mean paying points at closing, a high rate, and a serious pre-payment penalty (like 5 years). 

Right now, you have to be able to source off market properties or be willing to force cash flow with large down payments. 

or, only after you've paid yourself back for your down payment?

Gave me the monthly payment and I checked it against a mortgage calculator and it's exactly what that said. 

The best deal I can find today is one that you buy cash, invest a rehab and when you pull out 75% of your ARV you leave maybe a small amount of money in the deal and you break even (BEFORE DISCOUNTING FOR VACANCY, REPAIRS, etc) Yes that means you leave like 10-25k in the deal and your payment becomes $3000/m and your rent is $3000 a month or slightly less.This is for my local market and for Class B or higher RE. 

My plan is to use a low down payment conventional loan, and with the factors you mentioned, it’ll likely be tough to find a property that breaks even.

The only slight red flag was that they only accepted payment via Venmo or wire transfer, but that's how I accepted payment when I was selling lead bundles, so I still thought it was worth a shot.

Mortgage payment is approx $1800.