@Lance Trezona I like the targeted/more precise nature of that method. 

Goals for this deal:- secure precisely 3 units within 1 mile of Rillito Bike Path @ Dodge Blvd: easy to access all major Tucson road cycling routes- property layout functional for STR: adequate parking, separate backyard spaces, etc- walking distance to Brandi Fenton Dog Park & Tucson Hop Shop (best bar in Tucson)- pay house cleaner & landscaper to periodically clean primary residence out of AirBnB income (still working towards that!)

This is precisely why I need to approach the seller's agent.

Your property taxes can only go up 2% a year unless you sell it (reassessed at market value for the new buyer) or add new construction/major renovation (reassessment but there's no precise formula I can find online for San Francisco Bay Area.

Sometimes the tenants win on really trivial procedural things those who think they can self-manager get wrong, such as precise timing for rent increase paperwork (LA has rent control). 

The Silicon Valley DOT BOMB explosion was precisely on the issue that year-on-year there were no earnings and the venture capital investors saw no light at the end of the road and called in their ante.Personally, I evaluate the Cash Flow as my sole discriminant for purchase.

More precisely, it's a 3 bed 2 bath SFH with a detached cottage in the back. 

With spreadsheets.I'm a machinist - expect me to be painfully precise.

That possibility is precisely what I want to mitigate.So, upon further research, I found a palatable amount of unpaid taxes -- and the county owned all of the certificates -- no one had bought them.  

I don't like the 'For Rent' signs for precisely the reasons that Brad mentions, although I am sure they can be effective.