Exactly right on the “bread and butter”, 2 & 3 bedrooms rentals. I’ve had one in Riverside for 20 years, but I know an agent who bought basic fixers and now has almost 30 and doesn’t need to work. He rents to sec 8’s and brags about his low vacancy and how his people can rehab anything for $2-3k.
The math favors the basic units. You can rent a $200k sfr for $1200, but you might get only $1800 for a $400k sfr and you are more likely to have hoa and expensive repairs, etc. McMansions would be the worst rental investment.
