We want to plan in the most tax vantaged ways (which includes keeping future AGI as low as possible) and open to new-age and creative concepts.Respectfully ask to keep discussion to topic vs. selling one's self or services seeking new business.

One thing to consider is that in terms of wealth building and Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrant, owing a rental and doing work yourself is putting you in the self-employed quadrant, not Business Owner or Investor.I think there are a lot of factors stacked against California for long term rentals, and I think you know it too! 

Otherwise, you will likely be copying someone else's false expectations.I have reviewed hundreds of such self-constructed logs, and most of them will not hold water.

> PMWere you suggesting that we should self-manage? 

In my case, I have residential rentals in one LLC, commercial properties in another, self-storage in a third, and my real estate company operates in a fourth.

In neighborhood it is very important to present your self to the home owner next to you, this helps a lot to prevent misunderstandings. also this shows your professionalism.

i self manage 1 property that i used to live in and have PMs on the rest.i'm trying to BRRRR so that i can recoup all or most of my capital on each deal that i buy, and in 2024 i got outbid on 100% of what i went after.

We are both self employed so retirement is something we have both started thinking about.

If you are going to self manage you will need to build business systems and get a list of reliable vendors.  

Even when I self manage I include pm because it is work and I do not work for free.