You must understand your goals, objectives, constraints and budget before committing to any purchase (real estate or otherwise).

Not just what is written, but how things work in….practice.Natalie wrote: “I still think it's blindly optimistic that the IRS would qualify someone owning 1 rental as a business”“Blindly optimistic” …. needlessly strong words that reflect on my credibility…..or yours.

Just food for thought, I'm a relative newbie compared to many experts here so feel free to agree/disagree strongly.

The city is vibrant with good job growth, and there is a strong rental market and short-term airbnb does well there, and lots of smaller multi-families with good bones.

@Anne @Anne Smith California has very strong tenant laws making it difficult to evict tenants.

Do your job, family, or other commitments mean you'll be spreading yourself thin after six months?

I almost committed to a home on Judson ave for a rental but decided it wasn’t the right fit for my first one. 

I do have one investor whom I have worked with on previous flops as his buyer And listing Agent willing to finance with @ 65/ 35 split but I’m wanting to explore other option before committing.

I do still think that Texas and Florida for example have room to grow because of the strong population and jog growth. would it become another LA.

The problem would be getting them to commit and look at this, I know a lot of management firms utilize these deposits for extra revenue but they need to be fair and give you every opportunity to correct.