I will continue to explore options with some local lenders.

I have my bank I worked with before and a few more other contacts, but would like to explore a bit further for comparison/consideration. 

To really get accurate comp data, you're going to need MLS access, or partner up with somebody who does.

So I want to explore lease options or owner financing.

I ask because I ran into a problem with melissa data not giving me accurate information on absentee owners list regarding to the actual homeowners residence and the absentee home? 

I also wouldn't be opposed to exploring areas east of I-85 and north of I-20 (i.e.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office uses Crimemap and you can see it and review the data before you make an investment.

I'll be moving from San Jose, CA to Long Beach, CA within the next year and am excited to explore house hacking with my wife as we look to purchase our first home.

What I seem to be finding is that if you want to adjust your % just by looking at the data you could use Age of the property as one adjustment. 

@Daniel Graham Wright Sounds like a solid plan...it's really all relative...it's better to focus on what the data is telling us, rather than the news headlines...multifamily (residential) and single family residential behave in a very different way...even though they are closely related.