And yes I will be doing my due diligence and trying to contact these HOAs and see what kind of rules, regulations, and restrictions they have.

My plan was originally to use my FHA or a low downpayment conventional loan to get a house with a spare bedroom and a detached garage which could become a ADU unit - Oakland's only restriction I can find is that one ADU unit per lot. 

Are there any restrictions on foreigners owning land?  

The LA City Council proposes rules, which have yet to be signed by the mayor, to restrict and regulate AirBnB type short term rentals throughout the entire city.

The HOAs are much more restrictive in new build neighborhoods.

You also have major restrictions in what you are able to do in terms of evictions, month to month or no.

@Kimberly Nickoson the rules for deduction interest on helocs and refinancing has changed and I believe has become more restrictive.

I'm sure there will always be some resistance because of this but as long as there is nothing set in stone that's restricting me from this I can over come.

I figured there had to be some restrictions and thought BP would be a great place to start the conversation.

I've reached out to some of the big names like GEICO and even a local independent agency, but I'm stuck I'm spending up to hour answering questions just to get an estimate....even worse I learn that I'm restricted to one plan.