I spend much of my time traveling, and want to make a transition to travel less and to create an avenue of passive income that could eventually become my primary source.

I am thinking to elect federal taxation as a sole proprietor (which is possible as a married couple in California).

The off market deals come from a variety of sources but most the off market listings are not very impressive.  

Well and to add one more option Andrew that I didn't mention before... most of the properties I've invested in have been outside of LA/CA, for the sole purpose of the cheaper prices and the cash flow.

Podcasts were my primary source of education & what gave me the confidence to make the plunge. 

Syndications are (in my biased opinion) the best source for passive income.

. :)If your future plan is to someday maybe rent out by the room, Fannie Mae will not go for that, since that would be a wide open door for people that don't have the income to qualify for what they want to just make up fictitious possible hypothetical future income sources that may or may not ever exist or pan out.

There are multiple sources of legal risk when it comes to investing in real estate.

In fact, now that Seattle has passed the "1st qualified applicant" law, you are now obligated to offer the home to rent to the first qualified applicant for your rental.What this means is that you cannot remove a tenant solely on the premise that they are using the Section 8 program to subsidize their payment.

I know the 20% will get rid of PMI but I am wondering are there any sources that would do a 3.5% down on a investment property?