@Stephanie DobbsYes, I suggest u c a lawyerB P No work

The home prices were insanely cheap compared to CA (where I'm from and currently live), so it seemed like a great plan.

(this is what I was told by my mortgage broker in California).A secondary option is that you if you purchased the property for very cheap (below market price), that even though you put only 3.5% down, the property appreciated in one year that you have that 20% equity from the appreciation and your below market purchase price.  

Investors in places like HI and CA cant get those sort of return very often. 

I'd like to start going to open houses to see how much properties are worth and to start to get to know the Easy Bay Area in the California Bay Area.I'm looking for advice on how to best find open houses and the right questions to ask when i'm there.Thank you in advance.Regards,Vlad

I loan across state lines and my best lender is out of California. 

The house located in nice South East Whittier, CA area bordering Fullerton / La Mirada / La Habra.

lolGood thing you don't have excise transfer taxes in CA?  

Hello Bigger Pockets community,My name is Eric and I live in Oakland, CA.

We are mostly interested in flips and possibly rentals in the Hawaii, Oregon, and California states so if anyone has any deals or is looking for deals... make a connection with me. :-)I'm also interested in chatting and connecting with any real estate agents as it is so great when we find agents that understand how to work with flips in the plethora of mini-cities (and their unique real estate laws) that we have all over LA and the OC!