@Jack MitchamPioneer Enterprises looks a little pricey, and their contract also seems to be a bit self-serving. 

Ask for his P & L statement as well as his tax forms for his properties. 

Our Department of Justice,  under the leadership of Special Prosecutor Lenny Breuer  and FBI, failed to bring to justice these greedy, self serving people. 

We fortunately/unfortunately live in a high priced market.Frankly, this is the prime reason why I elected to move my REI business out of state.It's not practical for everyone, but, an option that you may want to consider in parallel with upstate investing.However, don't be disheartened you have to play with the deck of cards served and find a way to win!

I have been considering using our equity in the property to get a loan and expand our portfolio I have been looking at this http://www.b2rfinance.com/products/portfolio-pro-l...Up to $300,000 to buy 2-3 more units -How much should I have in savings? 

We were cautious and consulted an eviction attorney in San Bernardino before proceeding.We served the owner a 3 day notice and he called us immediately.

From a knowledge perspective,  you would be personally better served by picking up a copy of @Frank Gallinelli's book "What Every Real Estate Investor needs to know about Cash Flow" and building your own spread sheet model.

If they were unwilling to sign, I would take that as a sign that they were not a serious buyer, and thus someone I should not put much effort into serving.

@Patrick L.

You also need to read mt blogs on BP as they should serve you very well starting out in real estate.