The Mechanicsburg one was a bit tougher (it's downtown - I did find renters but the application pool was not impressive in terms of income / credit).

In terms of reviewing applications, running bkgd checks, and creating a lease that works for me, I feel that I can handle all that (I have a little experience since I was the condo assoc president for a couple years).

Also, it looks to me that Bakersfield CA might be a bit better in terms of cashflow than LA.  

It seems like you really need to go the whole hog and buy a $200-$300K property, scrape and rebuild for $400K or so, and sell for ~$1M to see the true margin that makes things repeatable and scalable.At least, that's what I'm seeing in terms of a strategy that does not rely on the red hot appreciation of the last few years to carry values over a given 6-12 month period.

That last one is a pretty high bar to cross in terms of giving them an offer that sounds better.

I did  observe that these neighborhoods were the first to rebound in terms of price after the recession – almost immediately-- and are seeing significant appreciation. 

In terms of FHA 203k loan..

How are you doing in terms of cash on cash return?

I have not borrowed hard money yet for my deals I usually use conventional loans from large banks, however I would like to fund my next flip with private money since cash buyers in my area have the upper hand and scoop up all the good deals (cash buyers in my area always get the deals even if their offer is a bit lower than mine) . 1) What should I expect in terms of rate and fees when borrowing private money for a short term loan (6 months term) ? 

I'm wondering if I should wait until May-June which I heard is better in terms of demand or find tenant in Jan-Feb when the property (SFR) becomes available.