The best tools to take advantage of as a new member are the keyword alerts and local meetups.They help you find the right discussions and connect, in real time, with like-minded folks in your market.All the best to you!

Both can be powerful tools for investors, especially when you’re looking to maximize cash flow and returns.Since most lenders have a minimum loan requirement of $75K, you might want to explore hard money lenders.These lenders specialize in funding investment properties, even for amounts below traditional lending thresholds.

There is also a tool that will let you determine an estimate of what taxes might go upto.In order to do what you are mentioning above, it is called a drop-and-swap.

I would recommend listening to the BP podcast, they cover several different topics/investment strategis and it would be a good tool for a new investor that's unsure how they want to invest.

BP has various tools to help you analyze your deals (rentals, flips, wholesale, etc). : https://www.biggerpockets.com/investment-calculators7.

I want to use the equity in my CA home for the downpayment"me: "gasp" there was very popular post a few years back and LA based investor took out a large HELOC on their personal residence so they could buy 8 units in a mid west city.. that he admitted were D class and on paper the cash flow was huge etc etc.. 

But it's a great tool for practicing analyzing deals :)

What data do you gather and what tools do you use to optimize this process?

As an investor, your credit is  absolutely the most important tool you have. 

Instead, a hybrid approach could be more cost-effective and aligned with your goals.Why Full-Service Property Management Might Not Be Necessary:Based on my experience, Evolve is a popular "half-service" property manager, which means they handle tasks like creating professional listings, managing dynamic pricing, guest communication, and advertising on platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com.