Digging in to public records and calling police, we found that tenant was arrested for "manufacturing controlled substance between 4g to 200g".Tenant was not trouble maker but here's the history:1.

changes the equation quite a bit.Also, you aren't figuring out your expenses properly. it is not as simple as saying "mortgage is x, rent is y, so cash flow is Y minus X." what happens when the place sits empty for a month?

If you have all the proper information to take him to small claims it is likely the best route for any chance of getting your money back.

Month-to-month agreements are typically better for the landlord since you can usually change the terms whenever you want with proper notice (often with as little as 30 days notice), increase the rent as much and as often as you want (again, often with as little as 30 days notice), and more easily sever ties with tenants who aren’t working out. 

Long-term, buy & hold is a great strategy - I've always been a firm believer that you have the upper hand with these properties in the investment field because you have the advantage of being first in an area then being able to wait for appreciation for whenever you want to sell "when the time is right".Often times, these rental properties also don't involve the full scale upgrades (less money out-right) that you would need in a traditional fix-&-flip in order to hit projected ARV's.The one draw-back here is out-sourcing your rentals to a property management company - which finding the right one for the right price can take some time to vet - or else managing the property yourself, in which case you will need to start building relationships with contractors to ensure proper repairs are being done and the needs of your tenants are being met.You can do buy & holds out of state easily, too, just find the right market that is land-lord friendly (for example, mid-west: Indiana), and I think its fair to say you could do well long-term with the right properties!

File the proper notices and proceed with the eviction.

These still don't seem to be working properly for me.

One is a house hack. looking for advise from a CPA for proper bookkeeping and tax planning who works w/RE in CA.

You should be looking for something in the ballpark of guaranteed interest + 1%. 4) Be prepared to properly fund the account.

@Andrew Postell Few questions about proper structuring of the loan - atleast for my next deal, so that I could get the refinance right away.You create an LLC - Single Member LLC-A with just me as memberYou buy a home : Is it buying the property in my personal name ?