@Vincent D'Amato My hunch is that we'll see prices flat in the most in-demand / desirable neighborhoods, and perhaps a dip in the condo unit prices in the neighborhoods or neighboring cities that people look toward when they can't afford where they really want to live.

Especially on a flat roof where there may be many layers of roofing that hide any issues.When we encountered bad wood we take pictures and notify the owner immediately to make them aware how much wood and what the extra cost is going to be.I don't know the size of the roof or the cost of roofing in California, but here in Maryland that would be around 800 square feet of wood, which is quite a lot.

They like to see that you aren't flat broke, but don't always need you to keep that money into an easily liquidable account.

I definitely want to compensate the agent for any lost management fees, and possibly even pay a flat fee for finding the tenant but 3% feels a bit steep.

The grass/yard is currently flat all the way to the street with just a slight slope where a ditch used to be years ago.

What states are you talking about...most Secretary of State departments have been progressively moving toward "open for business" and the barriers to get registered as a foreign entity and get your articles are cost effective and easy.Now, property taxes are another story altogether...your LLC is probably welcome in most every state, but taxation can be rough, especially if you invest in a location with a struggling school system...or areas with historically low property assessments...just some things to think about...Best of luck

Sure, sometimes in the spring and fall when the weather is mild I have made a little money on flat utility fees, but in the long run as we expand our portfolios, it's simpler and less risky to have the tenants take care of utilities themselves.

to limit converting two-flats into single-family homes.

It also is helpful to have a California LLC in case you ever sell that property and move into another state so that you do not need to form a new LLC altogether with new operating agreement, just re-register in the new state as a new foreign LLC.

I ran with pay-per-stay on VRBO for the first two years and then calculated that (for us) it's actually worth spending the $499 annual flat fee per listing now