You're in the right place and now is the time to focus on education and planning.

Rodrigues' recommendation may change this), but my next question would be, are there any cities/markets where 1 of the following are true: 1) You have family/friends that live there, 2) You travel there frequently (either for vacation, work, etc.), or 3) Somewhere else you've lived before AND know the area well?

The way I did it is I built up total confidence through first education and second entrepreneurship.  

These names frequently come up in investor circles because of their reliability.Speak Directly to Their Team: Legitimate lenders will have knowledgeable representatives willing to explain their loan products and processes in detail.

Educate and then execute.

I was frequently met with “Please just do what I’m asking you” or “Can you stop asking so many questions, I don’t know why” or “Why won’t you just do it the way I’m telling you to do it?”

You seem to not want to take it as intended (to educate) and I am not sure it that is name calling or whatever it is.I do wish you would take the time this week to do the effort to properly estimate your maintenance/cap ex for a sustained hold. 

There are people on here (BP) that say "you don't need to pay for education".Well, not only are they wrong!

While this is a great and highly motivating goal, most people are either clueless or incorrect in their belief as to what is required to obtain this “lifestyle”.Understanding of the “how to” get there is further obscured by the misleading, and often patently false “pathways” sold by real estate educational MARKETING companies as workshops, upsold to association memberships, upsold to mentorships.

My questions: - Looking to understand pain points of operating in Indio that you wished you had known - Besides the music festival in April, is there frequent tourism ensuring you are making the annual CoC ?