Despite the high prices, politics, and taxes, people still desire to live there.

A desire and ability to share their knowledge4.

This is something I would have to dig into your background on to properly advise on which asset class might be better for you and also how much management intensity you desire and/or can handle.3.)

Who at your firm is licensed to sell securities?

Just go through them, select the renovated/closely matching ones, and enter them into a model.Here's my fix & flip model, you can see the comps entered and some quick stats below them: Then I use that comp data to adjust the Sale Price in the model to what I estimate it will be (double check the resale $/sf is in-line with the comps), then adjust the purchase price until I hit my desired return level. 

Its already long distance but if you have no desire to be involved, no boots on the ground in anyway, it may be hard to make it work.

Gann, JD (“Rick”) is Managing Partner of 1031 Capital Solutions, serving the Pacific Northwest from the firm’s office in Lake Oswego. 1031 Capital Solutions’ mission is to provide tax-efficient strategies to real estate investors.The contents of this article constitute neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any security which can only be made by prospectus.

Either way, you are taking the RIGHT steps, you have the desire; that’s obvious.  

I just don't have the time or desire to comb through their coursework, and I'm sceptical about the "mentoring" aspect - would happily just pay someone who's got incredibly profitable Airbnbs a flat hourly rate for their tailored advice. 

If there is one thing I would do different is: I would invest Out Of State in markets that had sustained growth, strong job numbers, were safe and desired, and had favorable Landlord laws.