Hey there Ben, congrats on your personal residence turning out so well.I personally would say that I don't think metro areas of CA are good buy and hold markets from a CF perspective.

I learned a few things that non-US resident can do who wants to invest but lack funding and also avoid U.S.

Rent is typically 900-1000 for 2 bedroomI will live in one bedroom as my primary residence and rent out the other bedroom.I will be financing 1/2 of the deal from a LOC with a 11% interest rate and the rest cash from savingsI will then refinance with a home equity loan.I am not applying for a traditional mortgage because i do not qualify.

My wife and I are waiting for our new construction condo to be finished. We bought when there was nothing in the neighborhood. So our base price was 210k and we put about 30k worth of options in it. Condo prices now a...

By the way, is this purchase for your primary residence or investment purposes?

background -- I own my primary residence free and clear.

The zoning is R2 allowing for 2 residences on the single lot so that shouldn't be a problem.Thanks for the info on the utilities.

The background of this house, just in case anyone is interested, is the previous resident was getting foreclosed on, so she gutted, and sold everything out of the house.

I live in the house as my primary residence.

I have been really struggling to get a good real estate agent, because most of them focus only on primary residence,and not too keen to handle deals that are under $150k.