Some data from my personal experience with renting:

I think rental prices for single family houses are strongly dependent on the area schools. So if you don’t have school age kids, you can get much lower rents in worse school areas.

Renting long distance is difficult. I compounded matters by having a dog.

I paid the year in advance for 5% discount on $2,850 for a 1,700 sf house in Torrey Hills, right across the street from a stellar elementary school. That’s $1.68 a foot.

Compared to $1.25 a foot, I overpaid. sdr, I’m interested in your thoughts on rental per sf in west CV.

I reckon the owner is losing about $1,400 a month cash flow.

Yes, there is a risk the owner will default. You do have a legal claim to that rent, even paid in advance, though, and given that it takes about six months to get someone out of a house, you’re fairly secure in paying six months or more in advance. One concern is that the house becomes uninhabitable, such as due to fire (!); you then would have an onerous claim process to get your prepaid rent back.