Regarding your situation, the appreciation strategy for real estate investment is compelling, especially in a high-demand market like Vancouver.

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – so, they often select the first PMC they call or that calls them back!

But a lot of my clients that can get these better deals are now refinancing and keeping these and stacking inventory and when market conditions are such they can exit they will start selling and it makes sense hold them over 12 months and now you have a performing asset and you have cap gains instead of ordinary income.  

I considered SFH where I'd rent out all the rooms and keep one to myself, but this seems risky since I'll realistically be away for months at a time and couldn't manage the unit/other tenants.Then I came across some listings that appear to be hotel rooms for sale, with basically the facilities I need (a bed, toilet, kitchen), a price point I can handle (270-500k$, I'd do 20% down), and fairly high HOAs (~1500$/m?).

Is Tracy hills an easy commute from major high paying jobs?

It sounds a bit high imo but it really depends how much work he/she is doing.

I'd highly recommend starting out with a house hack - whether it be a large single family in a good area or small multifamily. 

He also gets to enjoy California's low property taxes and high appreciation which has worked well for him. 

Soon closing on a property property cost $458k and the closing cost is really high we are doing FHA mortgage they are charging 2% of the loan plus application fee and mortgage insurance on closing for the amount of $7k and plus monthly mortgage insurance... in 2020 there was not just a thing 2% of the loan on mortgage origination loan fee! 

I’ve done some highly profitable “one off” deals in my 40+ years (and a few that turned out losers!)