This is why we want a larger, more valuable home.

If so, you open yourself up to a larger pool of candidates.

The larger the building and more units under one roof the more cost effective the build per sqft.Best way to do cost analysis is to discuss with a builder who builds the types of buildings in your area and run the numbers. 

It seems a lot of the larger developers are putting up quite a few mixed-use buildings downtown and in the surrounding areas and I don't see that trend slowing anytime soon.

This task is no easy one and rather than making it too complicated, for argument sake, it may be better to just go with published NAA figures to plug into your data.

Are you doing SFHs or something larger? 

Try connecting with investors in Ohio with larger portfolios, they may be experienced in SF and more apt to lending to you.

To make it a stronger offer you can go with a larger amount and have it non-refundable day 1 or within a short period of time. 

I'll ask for a larger deposit to mitigate some of the risk.

I ended up finding small things here and there until the concepts of larger meetups came to my attention.