I would like to see what the local tricks and tips are to protecting ourselves as landlords in California thank you my name is Ryan have a good day

(More information on how to best use Social Media in the last tip)TRACK EVERYTHING IN A DATABASEMake it a habit to get contact information from every person you meet.

Now IF you have all those bases covered, my tips are: Take GREAT pictures and for the love of all that is holly please no close ups, wide angel pics.

Just a few tips to look into but it usually takes some time to gain steam on your first listing so be patient and keep analyzing the local compeition /your own listing. 

However, I don’t yet have the funds for a down payment on another house, and I’m trying to figure out the best option for where to live while I rent the apartment.Do you have any recommendations for managing this transition or tips on finding a temporary place to stay?

I assumed some would need replaced, which would be okay, but I would hate to see it all trashed.I guess in that vein though, I hear that a lot about LTRs -- the horror stories -- and we have been blessed with amazing tenants (generally) so I was thinking it would be along the same line where it would be something where you would want to charge high-end and screen intensely to try to get a tenant that just is transitioning and can benefit from the furnishings.I know that could still happen though, even with all the precautions you can take, so it's something good to consider! 

Paging @Garrett Brown our resident STR specialist - what say you about tips for lead photos on listings??

Also any tips for automating this as much as possible and how to protect the property financially and property management would be appreciated.I ALMOST understand the rental arbitrage strategy if building a company scaling with say 30 + units and looking for high short term cash flow.  

Some of the materials we choose and asked him to pick up (such as flooring) he replaced with low quality materials, I assume to keep more of our money for himself. 

WE are seeing this in the Portland market.Montgomery Park the largest office complex in the state that sold about 7 years ago for 250 mil just got bought ( after no one bid it at foreclosure) for 25 mil by Menashe family. its over 1 million sq ft.. dont think you can lose on something like that. reminds me of the buys in 2010 in some markets were sfr's were selling for 1/4 of replacement costs..