That being said, after a couple of years of pretty much giving the entire SD back because there was no damage, I felt more comfortable with the move in fee.  

It's how comfortable you are in what you wear that's important.

It depends on your situation and what you are comfortable with.

As Andrew mentioned, PML is generally with friends or family and it's whatever you two are comfortable with.  

We currently Rent in a small Studio in Northern California, being frugal so that we can quickly grow the funds needed to get in comfortably while absorbing as much knowledge as I can.  

To answer this question I would first say to always invest in an area that you would feel comfortable having your kids or family in.  

Those are the numbers I'm seeing on the mls so obviously off market deals will be a lot cheaper but my point is your chance of finding a house in an area I'd feel comfortable walking around at night in for under 80k is pretty slim unless it needs a whole lot of work or is very small.  

So it's really about your risk-tolerance and what you feel comfortable with. 

But I wouldnt be comfortable putting $2+ mil in a shady C type neighborhood where you get the 10+ percent yeilds (at least on paper).

For instance, in the bond world, you have AAA rated bonds and if you've been investing in AAA bonds and that's what your comfortable with, if yields are depressed when you have money to invest, dropping down to a AA or A rated bond to get the same yield that you used to get on AAA bonds is taking on additional risk.