I have seen folks try for years to find these mythical private lenders and never do a deal because they can't raise a dime.what the OP is looking for is an asset based lender.. and those are not very common anymore.. especially if you have to find one on the internet means you don't have a track record and have little to no chance of finding anyone who is going to 100% your deal.. unless its just such a low LTV that they are making the loan with a better than 50% chance of owning it when the borrower can't pull it off because the borrower is not experienced and can't execute.  

I've read about an 8-11% discount from the listed price, as well as going as low as 15%, primarily on properties that are fresh on the market.

It's so cheap, you can just do it or have your tenants pay for it.Long-term:The quality of property attracts a certain quality of tenant.

I am no expert, but what I do not see in San Diego is how we get from the present extremely low inventory levels (especially on the coast and the lower priced $800k and below market) to an excess inventory level which I believe would have to be a precursor to any significant price drop.

Buy low, sell high.

Anything less than that, would make me fearful of a botched job regarding quality. 

Our prices are creeping up and the inventory is very low at the moment, so great deals are hard to come by, but the market is definitely there.

However, if you are connected in the community and know you can get a couple quality tenants, why not rent it out and pull some equity out if you want to free up some cash?

A great start.Rent for 3 bed sounds sounds a little bit low. 

You can go up to a 4 unit and get favorable gov't financing for owner occupied buildings with low down payments and low interest rates.