what about columbia is catching your eye?

Since your parents seem open to your involvement, I would start start small. 

Nice to meet you I'm almost halfway through "The book on rental property investing" by Brandon Turner and it's really open my eyes to real estate! 

From what Ive read, it looks like I may have to get a business certificate to do this in SF but Im not sure what that entails or what else is involved?

You will need to find partners, you will need to travel to where you wish to invest, you will need to understand the ins and outs of the business by being actively involved and treating it like a business and not some super passive investment.If you don't want to do that work I suggest you just put that 200k into some sort of diversified mutual fund that can make you 10+% on your money without any of the work of real estate.At the end of the day this is just my advice and I'm only a stranger on the internet.

HoltonWise is currently involved in litigation on the topic.

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

Also, keep an eye on local zoning and landlord-tenant laws—they can vary quite a bit.

There are some people that get lucky and earn cash quickly, but they generally hide the fact that it was pure luck or how much work was involved.

I have eyes on a property that I could get at about 120-130k after speaking with agent.