Nothing is ever truly passive in real estate no matter which property manager you select.

We had hoped that that would still be a value add for us to gain back some time for scaling our business.

Buy and hold in Hawaii doesn't usually pan out unless you're willing to go negative monthly (often considerably) to maybe gain some appreciation over time.

When I investigated, someone else had gained access to it and created an ad campaign.

Connecting with someone knowledgeable like you would be an invaluable opportunity for me to expand my understanding of the market and gain some valuable insights.Your expertise and advice are highly respected, and I genuinely appreciate any assistance you can offer.

The capital gains tax if I sell the rental will be $40,000.

This is a two-way interview, so have a short list of questions to ask the mentor (What books do you recommend I read to gain a better understanding?

My goal is to do rentals since that's passive income nature.

As I think cashflow is quite important at the beggining (but gaining equity is more important in the long run), to start off I have thought about sub-renting, renting from a mum and pop landlord and explaining very clearly (and maybe paying extra even) I want to airbnb it or rent by room for students.

You could start with  a passive investment to learn while you earn.Apartments and storage facilities are two vastly different niches.