I am, however, motivated by reading stories of others who started out with very little (albeit, in a much more forgiving market than the bay area) and amassed quite the portfolio.I think the only way I could get into a property in the bay area would be to have a set up similar to the one above. 

Not only for investment purposes, but if you're house hacking, then it will be your home too.It sounds like you're motivated considering your proactive approach.

The good news is that once you gain traction you can hire a VA to cold call for you and then just talk to the most motivated sellers.

Feel free to drop me a text or a call if you want to connect and chat about it sometime.

The SFH today is dilapidated and undoubtedly needs a face lift but because of the cashflow, the owner's not motivated to make repairs.

Maybe it's because it's beaten into our heads as RE agents, but I'm particularly careful when emailing, texting or calling applicants.   

Once he's done with his projects, I'll text him the link to this article and send him on his way to apparently 'greener' pastures.

Money is not everyone's #1 motivator. 

She texted me about it and volunteered to replace.

I would work with an investor-friendly agent who focuses on cold-outreach methods like cold-calling, cold-texting, etc to bring you off-market deals.