I have rental data, analytics, and entire market analysis in Reno, NV.

Additionally, it feels the most appropriate approach for both profiles I described above and allows me to focus on learning one strategy.

@William Bohan, Yeah, being a CA resident you'll have to do a 1031 exchange or your tax will approach 40%. 

Use your superior knowledge, experience and analytical ability to spot something in a property being offered for sale that everyone else has missed.  

In addition, you’ll be included in their newsletters for additional real estate investing resources.The best way to leverage RentRedi benefits is for rent collection:Tenant applications and screeningDocument and field maintenance requestsE-sign leases Tenant communicationRenter’s insuranceAnd for Stessa benefits: Property bookkeeping and accountingPortfolio monitoringProperty analytics to track historical performanceSchedule of Real Estate OwnedLandlord bankingTax prep support 

It's best to approach 2-3 lenders to compare their rates, terms, and loan programs.

What should I keep in mind to ensure I'm approaching it the right way?

Google Data Analytics gig??

Q1: Great points, we'll need to have a detailed operating agreement that outlines an agreed approach to all potential outcomes.

So, you’re at someone else’s expertise, decision making, experience, analytical skills, information flow, managerial capacity, oversight, etc.