Sadly I quit a good paying corporate job 2 years ago to move to LA. I

@George Lods yes, I think it has a bad rep but it is starting to change as they are building new businesses, shops, restaurants because LA is so expensive so a lot of people are moving here and other surrounding cities.

I house hacked my first home with the VA Loan and am currently living for free and plan on fully renting out my home when I leave to LA. I

I have a property in LA I landlord I  advertise it as a 'pets allowed on a case-by-case basis".

As I had already guessed, it doesn't sound like finding a cash flowing property in LA is going to be very likely. 

The “investor friendly” credit union representative told me it would be a challenge for me to get a loan based on my current situation, outlined below:1) I am an out of state freelancer and my $40K income last year is a summation of 5 different W2s. 2) My rent expense is almost 40% of my income (I live out of state in LA)I will not accept “no” as an answer because I know I am good for the loan and can generate the income needed to make my monthly mortgage payment once I move to UT.

It is true the Daytona Beach area is not the prettiest, but it's certainly not Detroit ( I'm originally from Michigan ) or LA ( I currently live in San Diego )! 

I went to school at USC (human bio major) and now that I’m about to get my license I’m wondering which is the best way to go when it comes to the bigger vs. smaller brokerage firms, and which firms you think are the best to work for in order to gain experience and build a good foundation in LA. I

LA is 6 hours south.Still a Boston fan through and through, but do live near Steph Curry and have run into him a few times, so follow the Warriors from that perspective. 

This isn't Ohio...Yeah, Tacoma is pretty bad but still not East LA. I