Thanks to the San Mateo bridge, Hayward is easily accessible to mid-wage earners who can NOT afford the Peninsula. 

If you have been investing in Pittsburgh then you know how affordable the houses are here.  

if you can afford to buy rental properties you should consider it.  

If you have access to $30k homes, can afford the costs of renovation and the costs of the resale while remaining profitable you're only a "friends and family round" away from being in business.This is a sum of money that banks are just not going to write short term debt on without excellent credit and collateral.

If I can find a more affordable place to live, I wouldn't be throwing so much money into another person's mortgage and I could potentially be turning a profit for myself.

We aren't talking about a wise buyer who understands value and pays more because they can afford to because of other intrinsic values to them, we're talking about Joe Public who is led to believe the price is reasonable when in fact it is not.Don't get me wrong, I'm all for free enterprise, open markets, but there is a line not to cross in dealing fairly with Joe Public, especially in real estate. 

When we foreclose on a tax lien we get the properties at very low prices so we can afford to self finance.

Just can't afford to.

Most of the property I could afford have what they call a maintenance fee that varies greatly, can be from 150$ to 600$ depending on the property.I would like to know what these fees are based upon ?

I made a big mistake not keeping up with rents a few years ago due to health issues.