I do have an opportunity to meet with other local San Diego / southern Cal investors in a social event tomorrow.  

This is instructive and ought to be considered in weighing comments.Given all the different forums, I suggest you spend some time searching them get a better sense of what you need to learn, then study independently of social media to get the answer to your GO/NO-GO decision.Also, go to to the new member intro section (after completing your profile) and introduce yourself and perhaps your queries and goals.

I may have missed something, but I was a little disappointed to see that there really haven't been any big forum discussions about "The Great Flood of 2016" as I've heard has been the case in the national media.

Just network, call bandit signs in your area, call craigslist posts, local REIA's, google investors in your area, utilize social media, use Bigger Pockets.

I've been living in Toronto for the past 10 years of my life but I just recently bought a house with my fiance in Cambridge, Ontario so I am re-locating to the Cambridge area now.During the day, I build and install cabinets (kitchens, closets, offices, mudrooms, entertainment/media units).

What you do qualify for is long term capital gains instead of earned income (earned income would be both regular fed tax rate and both sides of social security). 

I also worked in social services in NYC for a number of years and saw how barriers to getting secure housing made people's lives way worse.

Perhaps they've been through this before.Some landlords will say "if you don't hear from me then you didn't pass the screening requirements" but that seems rather harsh.I do send the application back to these folks because it includes their social security number. 

I would say cold calls, open houses, referrals, sphere of influence, head-knocking, family/friends, social media are the best free leads. 

Looking to build a large network on social media.