Its great that you are looking to stay and invest locally.

Any locals with some inside information on how true this is? 

Fly out there, drive the streets, meet with potential team members, talk with local investors, etc. - Not to mention you'll avoid the headaches of California Tenant friendly laws!

I would get involved with state or local apartment associations.

I use a lease developed in my state for realtors and is regularly updated to conform to ever changing laws.

Just disclose everything so all parties know what it going on with the assignable conract.Consult a local attorney.

Be creative in finding tenants by partnering with local, state, or even national businesses.

Check out some local meetup groups in the area.OCREIN - Unlock Your Real Estate Success: Stand Up and Connect!

I'm sure that is true, because most mortgage companies aren't going to go searching for issues when there aren't problems - but in the truest sense of the word this is loan fraud and I'm just not up for it in my portfolio.I did hear from a friend of a friend type that she was able to close a subto with a small local bank somewhere in Georgia (property was also located there) because of a long standing relationship with the bank. 

I am hosting a lunch&learn Zoom call on Wednesday about rent increases, more info on RPAWI. org - a local non profit REIA.