There's a lot of tips on how to do that exactly in Avery Carl's book, Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth. 

Ok, I actually haven't found any deals yet as I'm still reading a few books and trying to wrap my head around real estate investing.

Approx 5 commercial  properties with total combined value book value 12m .. actual maybe 20-25m?

After months of blood, sweat, and bargaining with contractors who seemed to vanish into thin air, I finally flipped it for $180,000.

Everything I had read and heard was that I should protect myself by having them in LLCs but I didn't realize I couldn't get a HELOC after (which many investors say in their books/podcasts that they use to leverage into more properties)

After 2 months going back and forth with them, they finally ended up paying 50% of the $9000 bill.

many houses in the midwest, for example, are very old and need major rehabs.i personally think out of state investing is more difficult than advertised, and much more difficult in the current investing environment, with: prices high; interest rates high; tremendous demand for inventory, by both investors and retail buyers; and good PMs, contractors, etc. booked up.here's a really thoughtful thread with the experience of another CA investor and lots of different responses:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/1215726-break...and here are some threads about how it can very easily go wrong:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1159104-overl...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/963/topics/1195280-expe...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1160450-run-i...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-balti...finally, you also said you "don't have a lot of money to start with." 

Hundreds of hours spent listening to podcasts and reading books on and off during that time kept the dream alive and prepared me to take the leap when an opportunity came up.I had received my real estate license about a year earlier to make some extra money but we were hitting a point in our debt and near future expenses that I knew I had to step out and make something happen.

So, for anyone who is further along in their journey that came across a book or content that was helpful to developing these skills, please drop a comment!

Dear BP family, I am finally on my way to start my small business.