Burbank is very strict on that and may give you a hard time on permitting the addition unless it is.  

And there are pretty strict penalties if they get it wrong.  

If you are strictly looking for comps, then using such sites as Trulia, Zillow, Redfin, etc. can work as the information of how much  house sold for and what date it sold on is public record.

They're doing it strictly as a numbers game, but it isn't very fun for a seller and most agents file their offers in the appropriate waste basket.

Their biggest mistake is always in not operating by strict business policies. 

As a newbie, I thought it would strictly be income - (mortgage + HOA + Taxes + Insurance) = cashflow.

In speaking with lenders, FHA will only allow you one FHA loan in a given area, in order to get a second FHA something like a job relocation too far away from your current home could qualify you, but guidelines were strict.

Hi Dong,Since you mentioned "profit"  and  you further brought up that depreciation is super high since you were renting it.I will assume the original purchase price was $380,000 and you were depreciating it the past 7 years and now your taxable gain is $116,727 calculated as follows.400,000 - 380,000 - 96,727(depreciation at 7 years assumed brought on jan 1 and residential building) = 116,727.Your agent is referring to section 1231 of the Internal revenue Code where the IRS allows you to DEFER gain on an investment property if you sell and acquire an investment property.The code calls for very strict rules on when you need to choose your new property once your property is sold.

Is it possible to get decent tenant with a reasonably strict application process and lease that's enforced?

There is a lot more risk for the bank when you put less than 20% down so they generally are more strict on the condition of the house in case of foreclosure.