East Bay has more reasonable prices points - I personally would pick a SFH in East Bay over a condo in S.F. 

One question comes to mind reading the "hire a PM to scale easily" vs the "PM yourself with few units", and maybe it's from my service business background, but it seems there is a middle ground that hasn't been mentioned.

There is going to be no new builds (for single family homes) at the starter home or middle class level. 

Maintenance issues, broken toilet in the middle of the night, blown HVAC? 

I have closed on one deal and we are in the middle of the renovation process now.

To start house hacking, research neighborhoods like Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, and South Side, while for multifamily investing, consider East Liberty, Squirrel Hill, and surrounding suburbs.

They did research with poor to middle class people and the wealthy.About 85% said the same thing they valued memories and happy experiences with friends and family.

As hinted by the streetname, Shore Blvd runs adjacent to the East River. 11103 Zip CodeThe 11103 Zip code has boasted 20 new listings year to date, 2nd most in Astoria.

For the money you will pay to invest on the 1600 block of N 27th street, you are better off buying in Germantown/East Mount Airy where the fundamentals are better or spending more to be in a better neighborhood.

That being said, schools ratings also change (e.g. a couple excellent elementary schools feeding into one currently low rating middle/high school will raise the rating of the middle school in the coming years as the kids advance, and vice versa).