My piece of advice would be to try to take advantage of as much free education as possible with podcasts, forums like these, YouTube, and other real estate investors.

It takes enough of your margin, which you don't have because you put so little down in this market.

Before jumping into the condo, I’d take a closer look at whether the $300/month cash flow is worth it compared to other options, like a small multi-family property or a property in a higher-yield market.

I would read up on "Squatters Rights" laws and how long a typical eviction takes to execute.

My bank directly takes Zelle, so its convenient for my tenant and I to do it that way, plus my bank would get it directly leaving a nice paper trail.

Make sure to take it into consideration depreciation.

Hi Ryan,Welcome to the BP community and congratulations on taking the leap into real estate investing.Wishing you much success on your journey.

A manager will roughly cost $100-$150 a month to take over a unit (it could be more or less in your market) and manage the units.

At CA tax rates it doesn't take much to be a significant number!  

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!