I'm Mike from Oceanside, Ca, and have been passionate about real estate investing for 10+ years. 

My question is this - does Johnson City receive enough visitation to justify a successful STR?

In California I've bought mostly older homes but I recognize theere's some risk to that.

(We're from California as well) Everything has been extremely smooth so far and their staff has been excellent with their customer service. 

Good morning, Taylor,We are a direct lender and not a broker here in San Diego, CA.

She has a deep understanding of the local markets and can help you identify properties that align with your goals.I’d be happy to set up a call to discuss your plans in more detail and share insights about neighborhoods, strategies, and what to expect when you visit.

specifically AZ, NV TX, UT, WA and CA

If the client is in CA the community property state laws may help here (not entirely sure) depending on when the property was acquired but it would be a great question for an attorney as Jason mentioned.If they were married and went through a divorce it would be worth looking into how the divorce paperwork stated how that property would be handled.

We've decided that we'll likely look for something somewhere in Guanacaste because we want beach AND proximity to airport (LIR).We go each August to visit her family. 

typically no special license is needed when doing it for hard money loans that I am aware of. there may be states like california and nevada that are tricky where lenders need a license of some sort but for most part brokers i have seen are not licensed. 14 or 15 states require state license and NMLS registration.