I grew up in Northern Glendale, near Montrose / La Crescenta. 

There many things you need to know ideally before you make an offer.Your first thing and not necessarily be the most important is the first impression when you drive like the building(s) and the landscaping, is it's location good for your tenants, the mix of the floor plans, can you add any value, Make sure when looking at the income and expense records that you looking at actual financial statements.Are there any nearby schools and are there there any nearby amenities and what type of the parking is available to the tenants, how any nearby apartment locations and what, if any, are they doing to attract prospects, look at all units and do not let the current owner trying to get you  not to do that, how does the current rental rates being collected near the market average, does it need any capital repairs or rehab right away,does it have a positive cash flow now, is it being properly managed by property management, and is there any nearby retail development and do its match your target market.

We are constantly looking for seller finance deals, given that these are the ones we are eligible for.

Buy an apartment near a good school district for 1 mill and sell it for 1.5 mill in 2 years. 

CA is a foreign country.. and I learned this as a HML there.. not nearly as cut and dry as being a lender in the US>. the judges in CA have wide latitude to cram down your rate.. give borrower more time etc etc.. 

If you can find a trendy area, near food/bars etc will be beneficial.

DOM seems to be constantly increasing.

No other big cap x items in near future.

With a Refinance loan amount of $300K you should have monthly rental income near $3,000.  

I'm moving back to the states soon with my family and we're planning on investing in real estate in the near future, including possibly house hacking.We have no debts and have some money saved as well as a bit of inheritance.