@Matthew McleanBigger Pockets is a great place to find an accountant specializing in real estate taxation.A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant specializing in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.Consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for an accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

It has a Walmart, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Applebees, and a 99 Restaurant which is a New England chain as well as tons of other businesses and restaurants.

They will still do the occasional flip, but mostly when a deal presents itself AND they may be between new construction starts so need to keep their teams busy.

Do you have any standards that you follow to help you in business?

This will depend on what kind of loan you choose to proceed with.

Even if you create a non-CA LLC, if you are managing the business from California, you will likely be deemed to be "doing business" in California and therefore likely subject to CA taxes.

I’m new to the rental business.

." - Exactly it's a business and there's little grey area when PM is done correctly. 

To make taxes easier we set up a business checking account and had all the rent paid into that account and all the expenses paid out of that account.

While personal loss is difficult and understandable, running a business that directly impacts property owners requires a contingency plan.