3) Buy a few out of state properties directly through an agent and work with a property manager to manage them? 

You can also partner with experienced investors who have the funds but need someone to find and manage properties.

that we’ve learned in our 24 years, managing almost 700 doors across the Metro Detroit area, including almost 100 S8 leases:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

I’m a real estate investor and the owner of a fairly large property management firm here in Texas.

A great way to get started if you currently have a W2 job is to buy a house hack like a duplex or a fourplex where you can move into one of the units and continue to rent/manage the other units.

Rental income is subject to tax, but it is also possible to deduct many costs related to owning and maintaining rental property, including property management fees, repairs, and mortgage interest payments.Additionally, for those investors holding properties in Germany for the long-term, the country's capital gains tax law is attractive.

In the past two years we have completed over a dozen flips, We are holding 20 rental units self managed and 2 self managed Air BnBs.

I manage around 400 rentals with 14 years of experience and have never been sued once.

For your GA LLC, filing correctly is crucial since you're based in CA and may need to handle multi-state tax filings.A real estate tax accountant can guide you on deducting renovation costs (likely capitalized rather than expensed for a flip), managing depreciation for investment properties, and tracking expenses related to your flip.

That is a good thing but if you have never managed it can still go sideways.