California prices are really unaffordable at the same time the state has consistently had outmigration of native residents for something like a decade and even negative population growth recently whereas Texas has grown substantially. 

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

RE is a lot more active and involved, even if you hire a PM and a GC which BTW eats up your returns.

The rules are more complicated than your one sentence, and even Tom did not have the time to explain all of them on his podcast. 500 hours is one way to qualify for material  participation, and there are other ways.

Most places in SWFL already come furnished (even non rental properties) so it was already set to go.3.  

There are some home loan options that require as little as 3.5% or even 0% down.

Do you feel $100 is enough or should I raise it to $150 or even $200?

Legal violations and penalities(fines) even if you have accounting software to track the difference. 

I’ve never owned anything in Ohio or even been there.

We also had the option of another type of policy that was even less expensive that would have required us to spend at least 1 night in the house and rent it at least 30 nights each year.