Interest rates are on the rise but historically speaking, money's still relatively cheap.

That said CA has historically been a good place for home appreciation in the long term especially now with home prices going crazy and bidding wars on every house. 

@Jay Durant, I cannot speak for any local laws, but historically LL pays common items like that.  

There is 0 intelligence in it what so ever, the historical data is rather universal that rent control depresses a market, not improves. 

Contact the utility provider and get an historical average based on the last year of use.

A property in an area with historically strong appreciation, a diverse and growing economy and a quality tenant pool are key things I look for when I look for SFHs or small multifamily properties that I plan to use as LTRs.When I analyze for STRs, I want a property in a historically tourist friendly area with consistent demand.

Answer = appraisal guarantees.If it’s a primary residence, you might have the option to offset it, by putting less money down.If it’s an investment deal (which at $700k I’m guessing it is not) then just run the numbers and see if it makes sense.If there are 10 other offers, you know the house is “worth it” because there are 10 other offers…so the market value doesn’t always equal the appraisal value (again, because appraisals aren’t market value, they look at old/past/historic data)You can do partial guarantee of $5k, $10k, $20k etc which is probably more where you would be in the 3-6 “other offers” situation.

When they make private property illegal. it would be stupid to sell my cashflowing portfolio right now at the historically-low interest rates I have on my loans.

Here's a starters list of things to look at: property prices, rental rates, strength of the local economy, historical property appreciation, crime rates, local school quality, proximity to corporate centers (jobs), walkability, property taxes, insurance rates, and tenant/landlord laws.

This project vision and plan are rooted in historical STR data of this market, maximizing revenue, occupancy, and ADR.