The problem I see in most hot markets like SoCal (and probably Phoenix too) is that there is more money chasing deals than there are truly good deals to invest in.

The past 2 days, it has been rather hot in this area so I wasn't sure if the heat caused the gases to expand which caused the bubbles or if its just shotty work. 

For example a 30 year old air conditioner could fail on the first hot day in summer.

The market is red hot right now and prices are ridiculous.

Item Cost Life years Months Cost Per Month Roof $ 6,000.00 25 300 $ 20.00 HVAC $ 4,500.00 15 180 $ 25.00 Hot H2O $ 550.00 8 96 $ 5.73 Flooring Carpet $ 1,800.00 5 60 $ 30.00 Flooring Laminate Wood $ 1,800.00 10 120 $ 15.00 Interior Paint $ 2,500.00 6 72 $ 34.72 Exterior Paint $ 3,000.00 8 96 $ 31.25 Revamp Plumbing $ 1,500.00 20 240 $ 6.25 Revamp Electrical $ 3,500.00 30 360 $ 9.72 Misc $ 200.00 1 12 $ 16.67 Monthly CapEx Allowance _ _ _ $ 179.34 

With as hot as the market has been recently, many folks who bought in 08 are realizing that they are no longer under water.

Just to add to it, there are many good books on the subject, as well as as a few very good podcasts you should check out in addition to BPs.Continued success!

@Matt Maluchnik, are you up against multiple Offers in a "hot" market?

@Or Yeger Yes I agree with Dian I worked as Investment Analyst for a Private equity, for a while and Did a lot of Land Banking and NPN, the only thing I disagree is the returns try more like 3.1% in this current market. also be careful cause, some people that may sounds knowledgeable, may really think they are but don't, know specially a complicated subject that not everybody in Real estate knows like NPN.

After diving into the subject a little more I have found that I also have an interest in learning about vacation rentals as well.