You are probably good with hard money and wholesale combo on your own, given that you are retired, and probably have retirement money stashed, I think you only need those, plus a RE agent for your first try.

I want to stash as much as possible into my 401k but don't want to get hit with UBIT taxes. 

They might be going after 3.5 down but have a load of cash stashed away.

Stolen cars were stashed there and taken apart.

They would then rent out the units, only paying the minimum payment and then stash the rest to invest into another property?

I personally think REI is one of the best places to stash your cash, but everyone works on their own timeline, so just be aware there are options out there that don't leave huge chunks of capital languishing in your checking account.5.

I see a few solutions though, 1) You already have a ton of cash stashed and don't need banks or2) You have relatives or friends who will finance your projects or3) You understand Hard Money and how it works or4) You will be partnering and doing Joint Ventures or5) You will be doing Subject To, so you don't need banks or6) You have one amazing printing press that spits out $100 bills like candy (I don't recommend this one)And, by the way, Phoenix, Mesa, Salt Lake, Austin and a whole bunch of other places are better places to invest for safety and return than SoCal right now.

There are thousands of people in your situation who learn to live a lifestyle friendly to paying off debt while stashing huge amounts of cash. 

They created and hid them for themselves and the informed have simply learned how to legally invade their very legal stash.

@Kenneth McKeown The first year I took the $1100/mo I rented the other side for and stashed it away in it's own bank account and when I separated from the Army and moved to Indiana I had $13,000 in a bank account which was used to buy three single family homes.