I have a 2-person unit with a glass top dining table and it has worked well.

Easy to use yourself too HELOC works (there may be some places that do a HELOCs on rental properties)I personally have used a 401k Loan on a few occasions - You're essentially borrowing money from your 401k and paying yourself back (interest goes back into your 401k as opposed to a bank) and if you don't pay your 401k back the loan would simply become a withdraw (maybe some tax penalties, but you could probably finagle a workaround).

but keep in mind CA has higher taxes and reg fees and I’m not doing more than 1-2 flips (short timeframe flips)  a year and many years do 0 flipsDo most flippers put flips into LLC Or in personal name (sole proprietor)  in CA (where you must pay $800 yearly plus accounting and other fees $300to $600+ yearly to maintain LLC) Pros for personal name-save on taxes accounting.

My weekly podcasts will also help you get a better feel of our market and then might help you learn our market quicker and with more data. 

I will make that proposal to the person I am talking and see where it goes.

I’d appreciate any insights, lessons learned, or recommendations from those who have gone through this process.

One middling program I got into, I later learned the founder was trying to get out of managing real estate because "it was hard" so he decided to teach real estate investing instead. 

Let's break it down with precision:The "Pain" (At First Glance):Your $2.8M sale splits out as:Building (§1250): $2.3MPersonal Property (§1245): $500KOriginal Basis Allocation:Building: $1.6M (depreciated over 27.5 years)Personal Property: $400K (fully depreciated)Building Depreciation:Annual: $1.6M ÷ 27.5 = $58,182Total over 10 years: $581,820Gain Breakdown:Building (§1250):Sale Price: $2,300,000Original Basis: $1,600,000Less Depreciation: ($581,820)Adjusted Basis: $1,018,180Total Gain: $1,281,820Unrecaptured §1250: $581,820 (25% max rate)Capital Gain: $700,000 (20% max rate)Personal Property (§1245):Sale Price: $500,000Adjusted Basis: $0Ordinary Income: $500,000The Strategic Play:Remember those suspended passive losses you couldn't use?

I’m excited to connect, learn, and eventually contribute as I gain experience.Feel free to drop your wisdom or recommendations—I’m all ears!

It takes time and patience, but the long-term benefits are well worth it.I’ve personally gained invaluable knowledge, listings, and deals from friendships I’ve built over the years.The more people you engage with, the faster you’ll achieve your goals!