Your options are limited. 1. 

Even the subpar situations we have no control over.

I will give you my numbers since we are 3 years into Velocity Banking.Home was purchased at $410k.Interest rate: 3.125%30 year termMortgage payment is around $1950 (includes insurance and property tax)HELOC: 8.25% Variable rate - current rateCredit Limit: $97kLet's say I made $10k a month and our expenses were $6k each month including the mortgage.

I know lots of installers don't do it, and I personally prefer the unimpeded look, but anything installed outside of the requirements of the material is probably going to be limited, i.e. the insurance company is not going to pay you because the material was not installed according to flooring requirements. 

In our case this was an annex built without proper permission, which limited the m2 that the bank would value the property against, and limited to how much space we would be legally allowed to use.

Rent control on MF and if prop 33 passes (last polling I saw had it ahead) it could apply to all housing.  

.- Many of these HCOL areas also have strict limitations on AirBnB or short-term rentals... that do not apply to owner-occupants - thus allowing for extreme cashflow potential for house-hackers.

I think that 2% may limit you to the east side of Cleveland though there are unicorns out there depending on your buying capability.I would also take a look at the Akron market as well as there is plenty of opportunity and many of oos investors do not even know to look there.

With a Conventional Loan you can buy a SFH, Duplex, Triplex or Quadplex with as little as 5% Down if it is your primary residence as long as you have the intention of occupying one of the units for 1 year after closing escrow.This is the strategy I have personally implemented and have assisted many of my investor clients in doing the same. 20% Down is also beneficial as it keeps your payment low but it does limit your ability of buying more real estate faster.i would be more than happy to discuss the different strategies with you over the phone or in person.

What if they build just outside the city limits, so they are not paying city taxes?