A good deal will always be a good deal so it shouldn't stop you from taking advantage of an opportunity but depending on what you're looking to do and where the properties are you may want to budget for an extra month or so when selling on the back end.

How do folks make the ceiling dry and fix it?

Watchout folks if you don't have an experienced partner in pre foreclosure.  

Income fluctuates tremendously in most 1099 real estate occupations (being a Realtor included) so having that put away will be vital to your comfort and peace of mind as you get started.(1) figure out how your minimum monthly income needs (this may change as you move to a different city and get out of college life, so estimates are fine for now)(2) cut out everything extra until you've put away 6 months reserves(3) live way below your means so you have extra money to save and investGood luck and congratulations!

You seem very green, I would highly suggest finding a property management company to do this for your while you learn the ropes and how things work.However, you can also get a copy of "The Book on Managing Rental Properties" by Brandon Turner, and get some really good information.The main one's to consider are:Background check - totally clear, or will you allow certain thingsEviction history - totally clear, or will you allow if no evictions for last xx yearsIncome Requirement - usually 3x the cost of rentCredit History - totally clear, or will you allow certain thingsPets - yes or no, size, type, number of pets allowed, extra pet deposit/feeAgain, I highly suggest a property manager to assist you with this.

For more info, check out the law itself AB968: https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB968/id/2764362 https://www.car.org/riskmanagement/qa/New-Laws/2024-New-LawsAll of the "owner-builder" folks that would get permits for work and then hire unlicensed, uninsured, discount companies to do the work for as cheap as possible will pivot. 

He thinks he's on top of something and degrading you, you don't give your time to folks that disrespect you.

I personally don't see a problem paying a couple of extra pts for a 1% reduction in the loan but some people I know are very adamant that we shouldn't be paying pts at this time in the game.

I have not heard of these folks but you may very well be correct maybe there is only a handful at a time. 

If you have enough rentals or do it for long enough, you'll run into folks who take advantage of the system.