I'm biased though because I have lived in middle/upper middle class area my whole life and would never live in a lower middle class/low class neighborhood area.

Since you live in Milpitas, with regards to your Prop 13 tax basis, if you are 55 years of age or older, check with the Santa Clara County Tax Assessor.https://www.sccassessor.org/index.php/forms-and-publications/forms/60-ah-transfer-your-assessed-value-prop-60-90When I sold my long-time San Jose home three years ago, I considered my tax basis transfer options if I remained in California, but decided to retire to a state with a lower cost of living and no state income tax.

This would still provide a lower payment than I have currently.

HELOC is a good option for lower closing costs, though rates are probably higher than a mortgage and may continue rising.

All this to say, a voluntary vacancy in January is filled with temptation to either lower one's standards or pay a high price in utility bills, insurance premiums and potentially emergency repairs. 

Numbers are based on list price of $575,000 but i would list at $599,000https://bp-v-newproduction.s3.amazonaws.com/upload...Since I am in the construction business these numbers are realistic and I would hope to complete the job at a lower cost. 

But for a new construction the maintenance is much lower.

The loans we are deciding between are the Fannie Mae Homestyle with the Homeready (to bring the down payment lower) and the 203K loan.

And my main driver an investment is what CoC return is.Now with that said, I have started to look at more investments with a lower CoC (as I have more financial capacity now) and a higher IRR.

I specifically bought it to lower my living costs via roommates.