Is there something betting out the for a new investor such as myself?

Then I'll try to figure out the best way to express that bet. 

I would only invest in CA if you're looking to flip or betting on appreciation (and I wouldn't recommend that at this time).Good luck!

I have a contact who works with hard money/is a hard money lender and I bet a convo with him can hopefully answer all of your questions.

@Mike McNeil-LeierI bet that looks amazing in a spreadsheet, but probably irrelevant to the real world.

Because, you can bet but this is how they will treat your property as well.I know that if they do not meet the criteria for income, credit score, and have good references, the letter stating that they have been rejected it's much easier to write because there is no way that they can say that you discriminated.

@Paul Sandhu  I did see that : )  I bet you get some great folks with an ad like that - humorous, but also straight to the point.  

As a GP I'm not sure how much you will personally be investing, but a waterfall structure with hurdles would be your best bet as it would insure you passives a solid return while guaranteeing performance on your part.

Do you want to speculate and wait on real estate to rise or fall, betting on appreciation.  

I bet she could get $600/month to rent out a bedroom.