Then it will receive feedback from data such as click-through rates and booking rates to determine if it is a top property.With this I suggest that you take time during the slow season to scout your competition and upgrade amenities and photos to put your best foot forward.Obviously not everyone has the luxury to do this, but it will give your listing the best chance to take its place among the top results for your sub-market.Others may have valid opinions to the contrary, and I suggest you consider what you know about your market.

Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated.

I would also just suggest getting involved in local real estate meetups.

If you have the money now to replace the carpet, I would suggest investing it for the next two years. 

We as a firm have investors working with us who have rental properties all over the US big and small.Finding a real estate-focused tax professional and one who can help with advisory and grow with you would be my suggestion to focus your efforts on finding.

This is not a problem if you use a licensed CA real estate broker to originate your loan since they get an exemption against usury for loans secured by real estate.My strong suggestion is to find an experienced hard money lender at a local real estate club to originate the loan for your lender.

If I was confident one way or another I would place my investing "bets" accordingly, but for now I make decisions based on where the data and trends suggest the most reliable chance of producing a return. 

@Cody TuathaDe, you might not have seen the conversation started by @Alonso NoriegaMy suggestion is that you get a HELOC or a fixed rate second mortgage on your property before you move out, so you garner the benefits of owner occupied rates.  

To suggest that it would be unethical to purchase the HOA without intent on satisfying the senior liens is simply old school thinking.

About a year ago, we bought a property in the Kansas City, Missouri area.The MLS listing stated the property was 1,700 square feet.However, someone alerted us to a potential error, suggesting the square footage might be smaller.