A lot of these blogs I am reading are from out of state with very low cost of living so I think If someone from this area could answer this, it would be very helpful for me.So my husband and I are currently living in one unit for the past 4 years that is part of a triplex/multifamily property in Belmont Heights in Long Beach, Ca.

Given California's tenant-friendly laws, you'd probably be better off hiring a PMC to help you find & screen roommates. 

I've seen many owners in Vegas get big fines for operating illegal STRs.I own 2 STRs in Big Bear CA which is about 4 hours away from Vegas - aside from buying something you can add value to, I'd absolutely recommend not getting into somewhere too remote that it's hard to find good people who can work on it.

It's really hard to get insurance under the land trust for rental properties in California.

Both properties are in California. 

I wish I could afford California because it is where I live but housing is so overpriced none of the rents wouldl cover the mortgage let alone pull in any cash flow.

We are in Ca a very tenant friendly state.

Since our 2022 taxes were due in October 2023 (CA extended due date), we knew that we wouldn’t find another CPA to do our taxes in time, so we allowed Brad Doran and Alan Kirkham to match us with another ‘WealthAbility CPA’ to complete our tax prep and filing, while they worked on coordinating a refund for us… a refund that was promised to us repeatedly, but still has yet to come to fruition.Alan Kirkham is WealthAbility’s client success manager who is amazing at lying about doing things he has no intention of doing like providing a refund.

I'm based in California but looking at nearby states for rental opportunities.

Also want to mention that I’m a licensed California realtor.