Also check the fire departments ISO rating.

I was wiped out as second lien holder which got me to thinking about legitimetly becoming a private lender.My question is if I already make 7.5% off a few of my 250k condos, then how does private lenders (not hard money lenders) make money off charging 7-8% returns when they can just purchase condos in cash for the same CAP rate?

You can always do a HELOC on you primary up to 90% LTV vs an investment property only up to 75% -80% where rates are also slightly steeper.

Calculate your gain after selling costs times 15% plus the California rate.

Crime rates per capita here are pretty exaggerated as a huge chunk of crimes are committed by folks from out of town. 

Also, insurance rates have been jumping higher recently.

The reality is, it's not going to last.Only those hosts treating this as a business and offering the best product are going to keep both rates and occupancy high.

Or you could find a group with a 30 year fixed (or Adjustable Rate) with reduced or removed Prepayment Penalty, but they will usually charge extra points or a higher rate to do it.Not 100% sure on the strategy behind it, but would be happy to connect and talk through either.Good luck!

It's nice to see that a family friend that's a lender mentioned shopping around for rates so that you can find the best deal possible, even if that means not working with them.

I'm going to agree with everyone else on Tax Liens, and you can take it a step further by doing some due diligence on which states reward you the most for Tax Lien investing.I've been looking into:Florida: With interest rates that can hit up to 18% per year, Florida is often seen as a prime spot.