You staved off future drama. 

The more experienced RE investors that I know in San Diego are not purchasing rent ready units off the MLS in San Diego.  

The hustle pays off if you put in the work.

HI Hernan,You can always start off by house hacking meaning you live in one UNIT or ROOM and renting out the other vacant units/rooms to offset your monthly mortgage payment.There are several ways to run and make sure you are maximizing your rental income while keeping your living expense as low as possible.

I first dismissed it as a way to race to the bottom so that they can keep making cashola off us like AirBNB's does.

So you are already in it $20-$40k which makes it less profitable already - It can be done, but its a lot of work.You may be better off getting a private lender to fund the deal where you give them the majority of upside (80%+) - especially if you have no money in the deal. 

Alternatively, you might consider the strategy of acquiring distressed off-market deals, renovating them, renting them out, refinancing to pull out cash, and repeating this process.Another aspect to consider is whether you prefer to handle the work yourself or delegate it to professionals.

Pierre Eade @Pierre Eade   Are you looking to pay off the HELOC just for a lower rate? 

If your doing anything close to this tye property better be a 100% home run .Otherwise, we didn't do a portfolio loan until we had 5 houses and supporting tax returns and did everything cash up until then. i wouldn't do it until you have some track record before jumping into leverage and a heloc is made to use and pay off quickly.

Between questionable long term water supply and a heated market cooling off and rents dropping at a macro level, it is hard to want to buy something,