We set up our infrastructure and are very organize and thorough, and through the year we made some significant progress and went on a learning phase to get better each day and closer to our first deal.As foreign investors we have to rely on hard money which gives a less edge, and face uncertainty with contractors not knowing real pricing and such.We are constantly on the look out for new investment opportunities.The problems we are facing right now is not knowing good contractors and the high competition on the MLS.We just started learning more about off market properties and sending direct mail.We would like to hear from your experience what should our next step be as newbie investors, and if there are some foreign investors here with tips.Thank you so much guys, best of luck to all! 

Hey guys, this is my first post here and I'm still very much in the educational phase of my investing career (I guess one always is).

Still in the earliest phases but my cost is relatively low so a win/win is high probability.

Still in the phase of finding a deal that makes sense for me.

Are you in the early research phase, or have you already identified some promising areas?

I am sure I will need more once we get to the next phase.

@Chris SeveneyWe have GC's onsite that run the contractor crew and they only get paid after each phase of work is finished and inspected.

There are phases in any business venture1.

Phase 1 environmental - Get this done in parallel to survey.

Finally, two other things that you can look into or talk with your CPA to see if there could be any advantages to you (you may be phased out due to income for some) is the Section 199A pass-through deduction, which would require you to start tracking hours spent on your real estate enterprise, as well as the possible CA SALT tax workaround in case you were interested in deducting more than the $10k state and local tax cap for the next few years.If you need referrals for professionals in any of these areas in the San Diego area, feel free to reach out.