In those days it was possible to locate and tie up a “killer” deal, and close the transaction with absolutely zero of the investors own money.

you may have to save up until you have enough money to do so - down payment, closing costs, reserves, etc.House Hacking: What Is It, How to Start, and Strategies for Successit's a more powerful way to get started. 

An example would be mixing your personal and LLC money in the same bank account.3.

Instead of shelling out $60K for a $250K deal, maybe some of you can help me figure out (or give referrals) to title companies, etc, or give overall advice how to save me money from this enormous financial endeavor (closing the deal).Thanks!

Did you use a hard money loan for this? 

As a side note, FDIC insurance protects depositor money, not debt.

I personally would look to a growing market and then exchange the money back to CA later, when things soften up.

There is definitely more too it than just the money that goes in.

I fired them last year.I just opened my mail to find a notice from a COLLECTION AGENCY stating I owed them money.

Alot of unknowns as you don't have the ability to walk the property beforehand, but interesting process, and pretty good deals exist there.While the Trustee Sales are cash purchases, there are many hard money options that can turn over the funds in time for the 24 hour funding required to complete the purchase.If you are interested, let me know and I can go into more detail, as well as make some other suggestions for you to consider.