So, yes, you can absolutely have a great rental business as an out of state ( and even international ) investor, as long as you have a solid team that are your boots on the ground. 

I only pay for BP leads and all other business comes from my sphere/referrals. 

When you say "we," are you speaking about your business or your personal tax returns, or does your business flow into your personal returns because you file as a sole proprietor?  

The GC is a business person who doesn't care about your ARV, LTV, or your budget.

Keep personal and business finances separate to create less headache.You should also do the following to make your bookkeeping easier:- File all receipts in a dedicated Google Drive folder.

California needs businesses to start putting a lot of pressure on it.

With an LLC, you may be able to deduct business expenses more effectively and avoid double taxation.

Now more than ever, I am seeing offers required to be submitted through a portal where the listing agents want no business being involved with up front negotiations.

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to post this. 

You can put your license in referral at most brokerages and pay no fees and still be able to do referral business.