My "concern" (if you could call it that) would be around the economy of Stockton (i.e employers there, what the growth potential is, how will an investor get appreciation in their investment) - but, for a pure cash flow investor, comparing it to the Mid-West with similar concerns; I'd say this is a fabulous region to consider. 

Also you should think about using you 401K, if you current employer always a rollover to self-directed.

If you are self employed it's very hard if not impossible to get a loan.  

I'm going to make the assumption that I have left my previous employer and can roll over the 401(k) into a self-directed 401(k) because I've started a small business.

Anyone knows what happens if my employer says, "uh yeah, he is outta here in two months.?

Last month, Move accused Samuelson of tipping Zillow off to confidential information that allowed Zillow to acquire Trulia and therefore obtain an unfair competitive advantage.In addition to claiming theft of agent and realtor.com listing data, the whistleblower letter (visible at the end of this story) alleges that: The Zillow sales team scrapes customer lists from realtor.com to target potential advertisers.Zillow is running secret programs called “LSS” and “LSSv2″ around listing quality.Samuelson was working while under a preliminary injunction, contrary to Zillow’s claims.Zillow exec Curt Beardsley stole multiple listing service contact, listing and other databases from Move (his former employer), keeps them in the cloud and uses them in his work at Zillow.

It could be possible to vacate earlier IF something monumental has happened in your life, such as termination of employment, but this is something you would 100% want to discuss with your lender.

Being self-employed as a real estate agent can make traditional lending very difficult to obtain.

This is true, but check your state realtor commission by-laws.Then, finding a broker that let's you invest while being employed by them is a rare find.

Wanting to try something new, I was employed by Regions Bank, then started my own company manufacturing home decor items.