I’d say it depends on your ideal persona to rent to.

Of course, COCR would be way higher than CAP but again it depends on % down payment and interest rate etc.Good for you, if you are able to do that in Bay Area.

A lot depends on your goals and what you need to accomplish with the property.

My budget is up to $280,000, depending on what the property can be rented for.Thanks!

Unlike 99% of all Loan Originators who are 100% dependent on realtor referrals, I'm able to share info on topics that all LOs will agree when talking among other LOs, but are terrified to agree in front of realtors.   

If you come in as a buyer with no agent and offer on a property that has a listing agent, the agent will probably try to get a higher fee by offering to represent/assist you in some fashion.

That all depends on if the rent will fully cover mortgage, tax, insurance, 5% of rental income for repairs, another 5% for CAPEX, another 5% for vacancies, and another 10% for PM services (even if you self-manage).

Our next step is to find out if vacant or not (our realtor seems to think is occupied), offer a small $ incentive to said tenants to move out in a nice and tidy fashion as to avoid damage to the property (if not, start the eviction process), get utilities changed in our name, get title insurance (via taxtitleservices) /clear the title, then work on the rehab :). 

It depends on the documents & terms used in the deal.If you need a simple lease option document with a contingency clause, just message me.It will let you back out if you don't find a buyer, without paying anything out of pocket.

This industry is notoriously old-fashioned, so you'll find that things move slow in some areas.