I volunteer and host an online group for our local chapter of the Real Estate Investors Association (REIA).

No.But you do see their website online, right?

Figure out how to actually analyze property and practice.

Focus on identifying promising neighborhoods in the north or east bay by leveraging your husband’s contractor network, local real estate agents, and online deal-finding platforms.

The total cost for this monthly for me is $1.00 fee for online payment for Sevier County, TN and the .73 cent stamp for Blount County, TN.

Unfortunately, while all the online places area great sources of information, you are much less likely to take action, or find someone to shadow, when online in a forum. 

If you decide to revisit STRs, you might want to explore properties where you can project expenses independently, such as using local STR forums or online tools to estimate maintenance, management, and occupancy costs.For networking and strategy-building, you might find local meetups or groups beneficial.

I really believe that we live in a time where all the information you need to do just about anything is available for free online.

Look up the default risk by credit score, this information is readily available online. 

Your tenants obligation was to pay you on Jan 1, so it doesn't matter if they paid someone else they still owe you...obviously details re: notice and dates all come into play here and from a practical perspective I'd work with the tenant and not move to evict over this.