Once you get a comfortable number under new leases, then take the next batch of tenants, who are less desirable, and be more aggressive about rent increases, and so on so forth.  

I'm here to learn more about the best way to acquire profitable properties but I'm very debt adverse, how to learn more about my desired market and managing properties (or hiring that out).  

You need to figure out the residual value of the site based on the desired profit margin.

I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has experience flipping homes in the San Francisco Bay Area (Particularly Alameda County) and in the more desirable areas of Los Angeles. 

Untimely, I do not believe they will produce the results the marketer desires. 

It's not terrible or war zone, but it's not fantastically desirable either.

That really does not work well in a self directed IRA, whether the investments are passive and entirely tax sheltered, or a trade or business activity subject to UBTI.If your desire is to flip houses to derive income for yourself, the Rollover as Business Startup program is the correct way to accomplish this using existing retirement funds.

Appreciation is 'non-actionable' meaning there's nothing you can do to even make it occur, let alone become any percentage you might desire. 

So the competition for deals gets crazy by all the first timers that will flame out and never do a deal but that does not make it better for those that do it for a living your constantly competing against someone with a 2k limit on their credit card and can hang on sites like this to get just enough knowledge to try to become a RE investor.. so in essence the market the interenet the desire to make a bunch of money because there is some illusion that RE is the way to rich's and lying on the beach.. has created the hordes all doing the same thing.We see this is the courthouse steps buying activity on the West coast every Tom Dick and Harry that can scrap up 200 to 300k in cash ( and there are Many) decide they want to buy foreclosures.. they show up to auction run properties up to a value that makes 0 sense buy it.. and never come back because they lost money or what have you.. and right when you think you got rid of those folks 5 more replace them... same thing is happening when your in the wholesaling business or distressed asset business.

Some of the replies to this post mention cap rates that might be good targets to shoot for in a particular neighborhood, but what is the process one uses to determine the desired cap rate for that area?