Advice for a First-Time Home Buyer in SoCal

Hello! I am a first-time home buyer who needs some advice on where in particular to invest in. I am looking for a nice single-family home, no HOA communities, and wanting to rent it out to someone long-term (with the possibility of short-term rentals like AirBnB, Vrbo, etc if I wanted to). But ideally long-term for consistent steady income that will pretty much pay the mortgage off by itself. My budget is ideally no more than $450,000 listing price for a home, with a down payment of $200,000. Already have been pre-approved for a loan with my lender.

At first, I was looking into Palmdale and especially Lancaster for the past few months now. Even went as far as going into escrow for one home but backing out due to many major flaws upon inspection. My first intention was to buy this home, and then occupy it by moving out of LA to Lancaster. I realized this really was not a great option, and I would be in mental/physical pain by commuting from Lancaster to LA every single day (because I have a full-time job here and not willing to get another job (can't even find a job like mine in the AV area) ... with this job market). So now I have shifted the idea from occupying my own home to just renting it out to someone long-term, not short-term. With that being said, I don't think it's a great idea to invest in Lancaster, Palmdale or anywhere in the AV because it has a slower appreciation rate than say, Palm Springs or Riverside County. Which brings my attention to that.

I have always loved and wanted to invest in a home somewhere in Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, any of the desert cities or maybe just the city of Riverside itself. I know there are rental regulations for short-term, with Palm Springs being the strictest there. But I heard DHS is more lenient. I don't know really. Where should I invest in with my budget to rent it out long-term? The desert cities? Riverside? Menifee? Hemet? My goal is somewhere within the desert cities, but please let me know as I'm open to any and all investment advice here. I want to get a home before the prices just escalate higher and higher while I still can, with my down payment amount. If there's some other city or community you think it's worthwhile, and it will appreciate, that's great too.

My only fear is that I won't be able to find a renter in due time. I worry about having to pay my mortgage and my rent for my home here in LA simultaneously until a renter is found. I was looking into giving a home to a property management company, like Utopia or something, but don't know how much they charge or take out of the rental income.. or if it's worth it. I know I won't have any time to manage a property from afar or on my own, so need help with all of this.

Thank you for your time.

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