People get this crazy idea that any property will produce positive cash flow and will make you money.

There is no specific guidance as to timing, and one does not need to fix up a house for it to be considered a flip.By contrast, property that is held to produce passive income such as rents is considered a passive investment asset.  

If it does NOT have any debt on a income producing property will help you weather the storm.

The real estate license but also provide you some income and flexibility in time in producing capital while you were at school.

finally, is a way around this to have a vacant property under a short term lease in someone else's name this way there can't be another lease in the event the scammers "produce" a lease ?

If the tenants has an extra $200 available to give you she most likely 1) is hiding under the table income from SEC 8 or 2) hasn't an add'l income producer living with her who is not on the lease. 

With a sponsoring employer producing limited income, the key benefit of higher contributions in the Solo 401(k) would be moot.Get out and learn more about the program and see if it will be a good fit for you.  

Purchase prices are considerably lower than Los Angeles and other cities in SoCal but the rents are still high enough to produce high cap rates compared to the rest of the state.

When that position is "in house" it's easier to train them to produce the results we expect with a partial re-paint.

Investing in income producing real estate is a great approach to build passive income and wealth by leveraging off what I call the 6 powers of real estate.