I agree with you on the reputation issue, same here.

Besides, the point is not to hold on to the property but to add value and flip or BRRRR so it wouldn't be an issue.

IE> If there is an issue and someone gets hurt you can be sued if you don't have insurance or if theirs does not cover you. 

Hello California landlords and investors, I came across this post on reddit discussing issues with tenant biased laws in California and lots of the comments seem to suggest that investing or being a landlord in California is very difficult and potentially a hassle/litigious/costly in case of issues. 

You made an offer for both properties for $300k, then the inspection revealed lots of issues needing attention, though not major ones, so you offered $280k asking for a reduction in price.

Most insurance companies wont even issue the policy if the current condition is distressed.

As I said, I think there is a lot of work to do to get this estimate on track but those are some of the obvious issues. 

I ended up having to sell that building for a different reason which resolved the issue but it was a nightmare.

I have an appointment this week with the L&I office to discuss this issue, to see if they can issue me a letter or anything that notes that the property can legally be used as a two-family.I would greatly appreciate any input that any of you may have!

@Nick Maugeri It also depends on your level of risk tolerance for whether you want to leverage a property and if there are issues with the property that will not allow it to be financed initially.