Another thing to note that will be hard to compare is that not everyone’s profile will be the same (your credit rating, your history of any and all claims in the past three years, etc.) 

As a result, I'm being pushed West from where I reside (downtown Chicago) and focusing on areas with a more attractive tax profile.

Just have to be wary of the cost.Your profile mentions investing in areas/states without a state income tax(Washington/Texas).

If you don’t mind sharing your calculator my email is in my profile!

Let's just say that someone I know very well was able to get a foreclosure removed from their credit profile within a couple of months, along with a few other less damaging derogatory items.

There’s a call scheduler in my profile.

Besides BP, Houzz, Angies List, what are some other good "Profile" sites to start building some backlinks, leads, to your real estate lead gen. website?

Have banks like First Republic curtailed some of these loan products while they reset their risk profile?

Yes California is expensive there are alternatives to being an active investor; you could invest with fellow syndicators who may be specializing in an asset class that has the return profile you're seeking and a solid track record of doing so.

David - Think of Section 8 tenants as another longterm tenant profile where you don't care if you're getting an S8 tenant or a market rate tenant (paying their own rent).