@Russell Brazil  lots of land leases in Hawaii.... was not aware that was the case in your area..one oddity in the NW west is how Timber is treated as real property while its standing and is personal property after it is severed and harvested.So you can buy and sell timber deeds .. you can 1031 timber deeds.. and this is just the standing timber does not effect the land underneath.

Going from SFR to MFU can be done effectively using the 1031; you're trading up in value and deferring the capital gains.This was my path where I closed with 95k on the sale of the SFR and used that to get an LTV of 70%(not the bank requirement) on a 6-unit. 

@Kelvin LeeThe term you are looking for is called "regulatory capture"  and we have certainly seen that big business is now a strong supporter of left wing politics in an effective effort to drive smaller competitors out of business. 

So my chances of something effecting the economy aren't as bad as if there were only 1 big business that provided for the town. 

Hard to say without knowing your budget, skills, and goals.If you are wanting us to randomly throw out effective strategies, here is one ... if LA proper is too expensive and too competitive for you, then go East young man ...

And there should have been something written into the special provisions to that effect as well.

Sometimes a simple anonymous inquiry call from an attorney is amazingly effective.

Powers of attorney are great to have but may not be effective.  

Does anyone take in consideration weather/natural disasters when investing out of state (ie tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes etc)  or is it "I have insurance who cares" mentality? 

I have talked to them and found their personal competitive advantage and guided them effectively towards their own success.