I'd like to get some decent cash flowing into the business before turning to rentals.

Commercial is for business purposes.In most zoning, you have residential, multi-family or apartments, and commercial, but apartment use is not the same as commercial. 

Ample room inside and out for not only your vehicles but also for a workshop, storage, home gym, perfect for car enthusiasts, business owners or hobbyist.

@Roseann Koefoed,As long as you have legitimate self-employment or an active business, you will be able to establish a self-directed Solo 401k plan.

Be creative in finding tenants by partnering with local, state, or even national businesses.

My wife is a veteran real estate agent in SF and is very focused on continuing to build her book of business, so I'm leading the charge in the household on the investment side.

Even if you create a non-CA LLC, if you are managing the business from California, you will likely be deemed to be "doing business" in California and therefore likely subject to CA taxes.

Since beginning, I've rented to about 8 different people from various walks of life - mainly business travlers from other countries, rotating medical students, and travel nurses.

To recap: Be extremely cautious with flat fee MLS sites that only refer business to other agents.Bonus PointsYou should also consider the ease of use of the flat fee MLS listing provider, for example, can you complete everything online?

I'm curious, within your own real estate investing biz, what is the one thing you hate doing but needs to be done to run your business?