What your looking for exists but usually builders only finance on land they own, and even then its usually in a full development. 

I am looking to network with developers, contractors with commercial experience, and experienced land acquisition professionals in the Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside County areas.

Ideally we wouldn’t buy if it didn’t cash flow in the first place so I’m picking nice round numbers just for simplicity.Loan is 240K 30 yr. fixed at 4.3%Monthly payments are 1,500 Rental income 2,000Cash flow is 500/monthIf we use the cash flow to pay down the mortgage faster we can pay down the mortgage in ~ 17 years and save nearly 80K in interest paid on that loan.

One of my favorite quotes by Jim Rohn is, "Your level of success will seldom exceed your level of personal development".If I was coaching my younger self, this is what I would recommend: Read Brandon Turner's book on Rental Property Investing https://www.amazon.com/Book-Rental-Property-Investing-Passive-ebook/dp/B018UTI2DOListening to the BP Real Estate podcast https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcastListening to the BP money podcast https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshowAttend your local REIA meetings to networkStart analyzing deals to get practiceEngage more on the BP forumsAll the best!

I was interested in a super-skinny strip of land adjacent to property I currently own, but there were MANY liens against it because it was owned by Brandon Barber, who'd gone to jail for misc. property development misdeeds. 

If I could get the seller to carry for the term, that would be ideal, but I think most would want the balloon at some point.

Toll Brothers are building a development of single family homes across the street from my property starting at $500K.

The ideal agent will:-Have knowledge of VA loans-Have an established network of property managers, contractors, handymen (or women), and local lenders.

The Torrance ADU development standard states "ADUs are not allowed in the Hillside Overlay or Local Coastal Overlay District unless the ADU is created from converting existing permitted square footage," which I assume are the areas you're talking about.

If you buy them low and do a quick flip and make you some money is ideal.