Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

We had a call set up for a Monday in December and by Friday we found the house we wanted to purchase through them. 

@Denise Lang Starting your real estate investing journey out of state can be strategic given California's high costs and tenant-friendly laws.

I just set up my vrbo account and still some finer details about planning the communication, cleaning service, maintenance persons, etc…

.🎯 Your 6-Month Timeline:Month 1: Foundation (5-7 hours/week)Morning routine: 1 hour daily market researchEvening routine: Deal analysis practiceWeekend: BP forums & networkingKey Goal: Analyze 10 deals on paperMonth 2: Education (8-10 hours/week)Complete 1 RE courseJoin 2 local REI groupsSchedule lunch breaks with agentsKey Goal: Build your initial power team listMonth 3: Systems (10-12 hours/week)Set up deal tracking systemCreate document templatesEstablish banking relationshipsKey Goal: Ready to make offersMonth 4: Lead Generation (12-15 hours/week)Drive neighborhoods after workWeekend open housesSetup automated MLS alertsKey Goal: Generate first 5 qualified leadsNow, the Owners and Brokers you deal with may not enjoy this, but you can certainly "practice" making offers.  

There are a ton of tools and resources that not a lot of people know so doing some YT watching and their training helps immensely. also, happy to answer any questions you might have on set up / operations.

A low maintenance condo rentable to good tenants sounds like a good starting point to me.I’m 56 and reasonably setup for retirement, so real estate is a stabilizing diversifier for me.

Here's an article with additional FAQs on cost segregation studies that you may find helpful.

No one is going to allow that and construction-wise, it is usually not cost-feasible for the output rent on such a large property.

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.