I would look for a blue ocean somewhere near this red ocean and find a way to fish there.

Soup to nuts everything to do your first loan. 

Do a little research on how to effectively do this.In a nut shell search for current owner and look for liens, next previous owner and this the previous owner to this one and so on until you can find when house was built or a foreclosure where a clean deed will start from.Taxes - Do a similar search on the Real Property or Taxes link on your county page.

My true passion is fly fishing which is the industry my business falls within.

This keeps our monthly nut down and gives us time to squirrel up the balloons throughout the year. even if you had to get some private money to make it happen, better to have a good deal than no deal.It's hard in CA and very few of our deals we've gotten into have seller financing, so someone that owns the place free and clear helps because you can get in with a lower down payment.

Create enough passive income that I can buy a nice house on the lake in my hometown along with a boat and a couple fishing poles hahaId spend a lot of time traveling as well.  

Your background gives you instant credibility in that crowd, which is small and tight-knit - very hard to break into, but great fishing grounds once you do.  

I'm an astronomy and science nut, an active member of the Denver Astronomical Society here in town, and work as a consultant in the contact center industry.  

If this is the case, bring them both to the table and you tell them both what's industry standard, be firm.David Dachtera There is something wrong with your state, like what Will Barnard said, both in NV and CA, we put boxes AND pull wires (if you're using stranded like government/commercial buildings, put a wire nut) before requesting for rough inspection.

The path of "fake it til you make it" giving the impression of success is a never ending one because there is always a bigger fish to impress.