BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

Even if straight off a cliff. 

We're relatively new STR owner/operator in Highlands and have been very pleasantly surprised with demand even outside the peak summer season.

I always tell clients to take care of the hard job first - If this is a sellers market then find your property and even get it under contract before you sell your old property.  

One question that I'm pondering is, even with the positive growth, how do I determine rental demand in the area?

Even if you create a non-CA LLC, if you are managing the business from California, you will likely be deemed to be "doing business" in California and therefore likely subject to CA taxes.

.- It's not profitable for them to search for under-market priced houses, figure out repairs needed or what other problem is pushing the price down and do even more for a newbie investor that has analysis-paralysis and may never buy anything.Some questions you'll want to share the answers to with any agent you choose:1) Are you paying cash or getting a mortgage?

If that investor hadn't planned it carefully and re-invested that money into the property or even the purchase of another then a recapture fee would hit them hard. 

Even though it wasn't the answer you were looking for, it is the correct answer.

Even with owner financing, his primary concern should be receiving payments.