Hey Dave, my advice- don't limit yourself to a specific neighborhood.

So we identify all those small items.But your inspector should advise you on the items they consider to be the most critical. 

.- Their capital gains is limited since they've taken a large chunk of cash out on a refi and the increased value of the rehabbed units covers enough that I can cash flow on the new "full price" after I refinance them.  

one guy got 5 years in state prison for that little scheme. its a very dangerous model for those with limit money.. just like the other guy said in FLA you can end up in jail.. well you certainly can in Oregon if your scheme was to be a bad boy or girl .

If it's between $100k-150k, the $25k allowable loss limit phases out (once you hit $150k, you will be unable to deduct passive losses against passive income).

yes, they can set the reserve at any amount they want.....assuming it is a foreclosure, their final judgment would be their upper limit. 

I could HI Kevin,This transition that you're asking about above is extremely important to transition smoothly and plan for because it will ensure your subsequent VA use for additonal purchases.Once the current property is refinanced with a non VA loan this will free up your entitlement for additional use.The max conv limit in Ventura county Ca is 672,750 and the max loan limits for a high balance loan can go up to 95%.So what this means is theoretically you could refinance up to 672,750 loan amount with an appraisal as low as 708,158 dollars or higher before your loan is subject to jumbo/non conventional guidelines (much tougher to qualify for and has lower LTV's).The VA loan has some key features that other loans dont have:- a trade off of no monthly PMI but the upfront PMI is huge, equivalent to 2.15 - 3.30 Points (borderline hard money points).

I’m now trying to figure out if I should go out of state (have only very limited knowledge of a few areas out of state, so that’s nerve wracking) OR if I should try and invest in CA but not in my neighborhood, maybe Oakland, Richmond, not sure.

I use my real estate agent's login because I'm cheap, it's not too expensive though even if you have to pay, or there's a free trial period that may work for you if you just need it for a one-off or limited number of uses.  

The two common choices for doing so are the self-directed IRA and the Solo 401k.The Solo 401k requires self-employment activity, but will allow you to take participant loans while the IRA does not.A few other Solo 401k benefits:Compared to an IRA, Solo 401k contributions limits are roughly ten times higher.There is no custodial requirement for the 401k.You don't need the additional expense and administration of an LLC to have checkbook control.There is a built in-Roth component whereas IRAs are either traditional or Roth, not both.A spouse can also participate in the same Solo 401k plan.The Solo 401k has additional tax benefits over an IRA when investing into real estate using leverage.The penalties for prohibited transactions are less severe, though it's best not to utilize this benefit :)With either structure, it's generally recommended that you do not commingle retirement and non-retirement assets.