You have to be very competitive to convince someone to live there, instead of, say, Lancaster.  

BiggerPockets happens to have a lot of Landlords, and a couple of us have painstakingly gone over them, state by state, to produce a product that we believe gives investors a starting point that is better than what the competition provides.

Have you checked out other buildings in the area to see your competition? 

Amgen is now has a fraction of the impact/weight they used to have in NP, so their latest recent downsizing announcement once again created a giant... yawn.

@Nichole Stohler If I understand you correctly you are looking at the difference between a Debt investment (holding a note in whole or fractionated) or an equity investment, which is having an investment in actual property.  

Real estate is a very competitive market in California, and a good foundation is important. 

I'd suggest waiting until December to buy one... should be less competition. 

I'm just getting started but it is a lot of work even being local at least in a competitive market.

(Whenever the calculation results in a fraction of a unit, the number is rounded down.)

Competition from local investors is very strong).I'm not trying to sound discouraging at all, I make a full time living in this market and know several others that do as well.