And secondly, the risk of these hurricanes getting worse and worse and constantly beating down on people's houses?

I have such a small income that I qualify for most benefits, but the cost of living has increased faster than any COL increases.

I would guess that you will be at $2000 a year or so.

With $120k cash, I would leverage your money if you want to scale faster. 

With the home in BK you would need to get the trustees approval (assuming ch 13) if it’s ch 7 then it should be faster but still take 3-6 months

Getting pre-approved gives you a serious edge in securing deals faster.

Be patient and last tip is to keep your active income as long as you can and try to continue to increase that active income every year as that will help you grow your rental portfolio much faster and live below your means. 

Even if you view yourself as a passive investor, I always recommend investors take a hands on approach with their earliest properties as it lays a helpful foundation.With respect to turn key operators, I've personally found their objectives to be at conflict with the objectives of investors like yourself.

I suspect your sister’s RE path was faster and had less risk.  

So, your prediction that there would be at least $20k more if everything is included should be accurate.The reason for choosing a JADU is that converting the garage into an ADU would require a separate laundry setup and an additional electrical panel in the main house, which would increase the renovation costs for the main house itself.