I've been told by bankers/mortgage agencies that my cash-out refinance will have to come via an investment loan rather than an owner-occupied A6 cash-out, as I am not actually living in the property. 

An owner occupant won't have the same view and therefore would be more willing to pay more for a home than an investor would.Is there a slow down in the Bay Area market?  

Yes, they do have expirations "$1500 buyer agent bonus for contract effective by 1/31/2014" etc.The bonus is not subject to company dollar splits, so they can be better than an additional percentage.I think this all was already said, I just wanted to reiterate that we also do this with fair results.

@JC ConchasGenerally, if you're eligible for a Solo 401k, you'll be better off going that route rather than an IRA. 

If you're looking for a bank loan, I would go to a local bank and exhaust all avenues of local lending prior to going to a larger company that handles out of state lending. 

We were all noobs once, no need to feel like anything other than an investor working their business.

A long term tenant is more profitable than an unhappy and/or short term one.

I’m wondering if Indianapolis has already exhausted its potential.

Things like smoke detectors and other miscellaneous tasks can be tedious but they only come up so often and if you hire the right company they won't charge you an arm and a leg to do those small tasks that take less than an hour. 

Thelonious Jones Thanks for the exhaustive list.