It is true that many of the shareholders are actually negative on their equity (purchased for $70k, now worth $30k at most), there are those who purchased for $15k so getting everyone on board will be mostly impossible.  

Share a little more about what you're looking to accomplish, and where exactly in California (remember this is a really big state). 

Many investors do not consider the blended return, but for me and my strategy, the blended return makes it worth it.

the 2% rule is just a rule that some people use to sort through many leads to find which are worth analyzing further.

Just a list will be worth less than something you add value to.Check to make sure you have the legal rights to distribute the data in the product you bought. 

Its a little more expensive but worth it.

It costs a few bucks but definitely worth it. 

Although house hacking is worth it on a deal by deal basis, do not write off all of SD as a bad deal.  

You can also go to TrustedPros.Com which may have a sample and I remember they explain a lot too.

I would also say that finding a good property manager is worth some extra effort, it can literally make or break your investment.Here are some pics from our new build, we did a joint venture with our friend who is a property manager here in town.