I do like real estate but I am not sure $20K is enough to get started. 

Not sure what the question is here.What role are you playing in this scenario? 

We have never had an issue using those services.We make sure to do initial vetting of our candidates and a showing before we have them apply to not waste their money unless we want to move forward. 

Not sure what  you would do here. 

Certainly nothing ground-breaking in terms of ideas here, however I'll be very hands on (and on site) during the process to make sure that every step of the way is executed to a high standard and very carefully.Once I've hopefully developed a successful track record and gained experience, my next goal would be to move on to commercial assets (think multi-family, industrial etc) so that I can leverage my existing investor network and real estate knowledge to raise 3rd party equity and take on bigger projects.

It would be much appreciated.Direction on the applicable laws in Real Estate, sure: "Google.com". 

Normally we'd use a 1031 exchange, but since the cash of that property is going to be split, I wasn't sure what our options are.

I'm just beginning my learning journey and want to make sure I approach things with the right perspective.

How does the already deep in debt CA afford to tack on $50 BILLION in debt service?

Sure thing!