Just looking to collect my rent :-)Can anyone tell me what are the things which are different compared to the traditional residential lease in California?

The benefits to using available cash to fund multiples investments as opposed to paying all cash for one investment seem pretty self explanatory, but the largest benefits...especially in real estate...are likely the ability the spread risk across multiple investments and the ability to make multiple investments in a shorter period of time, allowing your cash flow, equity, and ultimately potentially your net worth to increase at a faster pace.To answer your question about traditional financing directly, yes you can obtain a traditional mortgage and put a large cash down payment down, essentially financing 'part' of the purchase price.

I thought in order to refi on an FHA to a traditional mortgage you need to have 20% in equity after refi but it appears once you hit 20% you can refi and pull all your equity out!

The deal may literally have to go in their name because of debt to income requirements from any traditional lender.  

I wanted to find an investment strategy that would provide more cashflow than a traditional long term rental, but I wanted it to be lower maintenance than a short term rental.

-I'd rather not go the traditional route with buying just because my W2 isn't exactly the most stable and i'm a full time college student.

This can sometimes bypass the LLC restriction, although terms may vary.Refinancing after Purchase: If you initially purchase the property under your personal name and then transfer it to an LLC, you could explore refinancing options post-transfer.

If this is your first time investing in 5+ MFH, you might be able to get a financing with a tradition DSCR lender as along as its not over 10 units.

They typically do these types of non-traditional house mortgages.

I often see investors pair a traditional LLC with a Series LLC to function in this capacity.