The only restriction on the new building would be 1/3 has to be affordable housing.

So, less restrictive in addition to cash flow ability and entry prices.Would you travel to the state your investing in ?

Why do we think it’s okay to be limited to monthly statements and restricted view of our business accounting?

California tends to have more laws on the books and requirements and restrictions that it can be a good idea to form a CA LLC for out of state property so that you as a CA resident are covered, and to try to have your contracts fall under the purview of CA courts.

So a property that needs work wouldn't be likely to work with a VA loan.See here for a recent forum post on STRs in NOLA:  Airbnb - New OrleansSee the following links for more info:New Orleans City Council issues temporary ban on most short-term rental permitsCouncilwoman pushes permanent restrictions for short-term rentalsNew proposals in New Orleans for short-term rentalsMost New Orleans short-term rentals could be linked to homestead exemption holdersPreliminary vote on New Orleans short-term rental changes delayed; a look at new timelineIf you have any questions I can answer, please feel free to reach out!

And are there any restriction in your current mortgage that prevent you from executing this strategy? 

Refinancing is typically only a good idea if you can get better terms than you have on your existing mortgage...cash out restrictions will limit what you can take...so, HELOC should be your first option.The alternative would be seek a new first position lien with you and your wife as applicants...as long as your DTI and credit are good...Renting the property you move from should not be a real issue unless you have occupancy (or other) restrictions that would prevent it...If you could fill in the pieces I could get you a more informed response. 

@Rafael Weiss yes definitely something that needs to be considered.In 2008 when the US market crashed I purchased a condo in downtown Las Vegas for 128000 u.s. dollars in Canada you couldn't buy a townhouse for under 750,000 .....its a huge difference for the investor i hate being restricted to a geographical area the price of real estate here is outrageous and i can definately get more doors in the USA..Way more potential and opportunity....Thanks for your input ....

Some policies may restrict the breeds allowed on the property.

So, there is that.However...I stopped posting there because their platform had restrictions on the types of deals that could be posted, and these restrictions were not geared toward the buy-and-hold deals we do, but rather toward deep-discount fix-and-flips.