I DO NOT recommend being a cash only buyer on your 1st couple properties.

I know there are a couple pod cast on here about Airbnb also..look those up :) Best of Luck!

This can affect your time on market as well as your final sales price.I’m also not trying to talk you out of it (I have a couple myself) just make sure you factor it into your underwriting and make sure you buy right.

The last time I spoke with them a couple of months ago they required $15,000 in a bank account for 2 months for approval.

Same for DIL... doubt you will be able to get that only being a couple weeks away... 

I gave it a try last night and was able to find several in my area over the next couple weeks.

Last year, we purchased a very nice 9 unit portfolio from an elderly couple (fourplex, triplex and duplex).

Get it to fit just right and go on to the next piece......if you screw up, just get another plank and start again....not a big deal.Get a good fit, and then a good bead of silicone between the plank and the tub.....that will need to be re-done every couple of years to insure a water tight sealUnless the tub is sitting on top of the tile, that's basically what the tile guys did and then filled the gaps with grout...same principlePretty easy to do....just tedious.The other option is to use quarter round....but you will still need to spend a lot of time trimming and getting the joints to match right at each angle etc

Should be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of months with interest rates slowly creeping up.

Welcome, @Alexander Jones.Yes, SoCal can be a tough nut to crack for newbies.A couple years ago I mailed out lots of letters to homeowners in LA County with no luck.Then I tried rural Kern County and got a deal from a distressed homeowner in California City.The margins were not as large as they would've been in LA or OC, but I was able to rent it out for 2 years before fixing it up and selling it for a decent gain.Also, have you considered an owner-occupied small multifamily for your first deal?