As far as roommates and leases go - with each change in tenancy, a fresh lease was written up with the correct tenant names - only the security deposit amounts were handled between roommates.

Some trusts even show up as owner of more than one property.I know that has been asked before here, but I'd like a fresh look on that and I actually also have some follow up questions.

From a financing perspective I was able to get a loan using the LLC name but had to be a personal guarantor.  

PM me :) 4) Yes condos are becoming more & more popular even with the HOA's because the higher rental rates you get for a lower capital outlay washes out the HOA costs from an ROI perspective. 5) The longer you wait, the most it is going to cost you and the lower your ROI will be.

But I don't live in CA so I wanted to ask for a local's perspective too.

If I can offer a different perspective that someone might not have thought about and help that person to make a better, different, or even the same decision, but with more info, that is all I am hoping to do.

The $275k - $300k price point is right along with average to median prices which, absent a significant down payment, tend to fall outside of acceptable profit margins from a buy and hold perspective. 

And I've heard I can get hired pretty much at my place of choosing freshly licensed.

Over some 20 years of doing this, I think only one perspective tenant had their own fridge.

The side in which they will be living was freshly painted by the previous owner.