Get the money, then the deal, then scale up... and use your experience/history to validate yourself as someone proven they can do it.

I would never recommend insuring a property for only it's market value if you are a newer investor and/or... finance the purchase of the property, could not afford to come out of pocket to pay to completely rebuild a useable property should a large loss occur.Yes the chances of a major loss occurring are low - but if it does happen... you could be wiped out.Example: You buy a house for $50,000 with an estimated reconstruction cost of $150,000.

You can rent or lease  a really nice big house in Milpitas for about $4.4k e.g.https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/apa/d/large-execu...If the economy really tanks you can move out your Santa Clara tenants and return there.

There is a large market for sub $1500 SFRs, once you break that limit the pool of applicants gets smaller due to demographics and income, but keep in mind that a lot of the downtown brand new class A apartment buildings are charging anywhere from $1700 to $2600 a month, even more in the Third Ward.

I will say you have a very large area that I would argue you should narrow down.

Way too many buyers fighting over very few deals along with large institutional investors and institutional wholesalers are making it even tighter. 

I am skeptical, and would rather get our feet wet on a smaller scale.

It's very convenient and has helped us scale our business.

Do you you like the security of a fixed payment each month or do you like the freedom of having essentially a large credit card to use for purchases.Best of Luck,

I have read Rich Dad Poor Dad and have a great vision of what I want to build...a large REI firm and operating my own rentals.