In Venice, my old rental just came on the market..It was previously $4500/month and asking $6500. lol Coastal California in particular (or anywhere on the Pacific Ocean - including Mexico) has become increasingly unattainable for most investors or retirees.

Here is 3 scenarios: conservatively projected low/medium/ and scenario 3 is actual recent net returns  (unlikely repeatable right now) I'm looking for alternative ideas to deploy $150-200k down payment on a much larger investment than a 1br house, so I can play the appreciation game as well as the income game.

Happened too many times for first 3-4 years.There is no risk of loosing the "deposit" either and it's just a bit of skin in the game even tho the skin is always yours to keep heheCovered all angles mate and made this as fool proof as possible but still enough to make folks "jump" through hoops to see who is legit and who isn't.As Chris mentioned, 90% of investors we don't end up working with and even when many commit to the deposit, I refund many times as I don't feel a good fit.Even with such stringent criteria, we still get mud thrown on us here on BP as some folks slip through the cracks.I could only imagine if we took on everyone and just focused on pushing sales.I can sell a TV to a blind man and ice to an eskimo.

FHA inspection, in my experience, will primarily look at safety oriented things, including chipping paint, exposed woods, hand railings, properly fitted windows, etc. 

Particularly be sure to include your goals for real estate investing so that folks can help you. 2) Follow your favorite forum topics and set up keyword alerts!

We self manage our condos and live over 10 hours away, so putting together this off-market deal to include the furniture, furnishings, a tenant, and a current listing, made it possible to go live without needing to travel.

This also includes running credit, getting an appraisal etc.

If you are game for that I would reach out to a marketing/PR agency to create the ads.

You'll get a sense of it's "$5/sq ft for LVP flooring" or each window costs this much, exterior paint job is $6000, permits, etc Add up every little thing including light switches and electric outlets. 

A beautifully charming rental where the electric bill is included in the rent (thanks to the solar panels)!