I'm originally from the east coast but have lived in beautiful San Diego for about 7 years (77 and sunny today, not bad :)). 

What are the things I must consider when looking for new property

The beauty of 1st position is you can buy out your mortgage and still use the difference for a down payment.

I've never heard the debate on which records are most appropriate in the public domain - but it seems to me that without a good reason otherwise, transparency is a good thing.I love your area of the country for its natural beauty. 

That's a beautiful place @Heather SchmidtknechtA common mistake is over estimating the ARV.

Jerid Cook from 918 Home Team in Tulsa is a great person to work with as he is always willing to help.Also, Michelle Leach from Titan Title in Tulsa is as knowledgeable of a person as I know in working through title issues such as the one I experienced (property title in a trust of a deceased person that also had a lien against it from a company that no longer existed).Before Photos:                      After Photos:        There was beautiful wood floors discovered under most of the "nasty" carpet which I had refinished:          

And not to get too far in the weeds, this is a story why so many high income earners would love to be around this beautiful city of Louisville, but so many leave for tax havens like FL or TX where they'd never deal with these taxes in the first place (and still have far superior roads, schools, jails, really, everything!)

Purchase price: $340,000 Cash invested: $90,000 Beautiful single family home close to downtown.

We have quartz countertops, bifold aluminum doors (4 large open doors), beautiful new kitchen with crown molding cabinets, waterfall kitchen island, ancient stone wall in our living room, all hardwood floors, etc. they are comparing my house to houses with carpet, old cabinets/kitchen, etc.

We then were patient with a short sale and got a steal on a beautiful home starting off with 75-100k in equity.