(They have the deferred maintenance you'd expect after a fixed income senior lived in them for several years, plus smokers, pets)So how do I turn 5 straggling houses into a proper real estate portfolio and well-managed rental business? 

I work remotely and prefer a location within 2-3 hours of West Palm Beach, where my family lives.

I do own a seasonal property close to this one and my retired father in law (retire contractor) is looking to do the renovation work for me and lives 1 mile away.

I’m active duty military originally from Alabama, currently living in Maryland.

Realistically, I will be living in CA for the next ~5years; however, I'm not married to the area I'm currently living. 

Mate James,I appreciate you taking time to reply in detail.It's always a pleasure reading and learning from your comments.What a bloody amazing country this is to live and do business in.It's full of top notch business folk like yourself willing to take time out of their day and reply/assist in much depth.I've travelled the world mate and lived all other, there is nothing else even close to the USA 🇺🇸Again, thanks for your detailed reply 🙏1) Agreed2) We are actually working on this to have a full blown proper standardized rehab/turn guide.

Gave me a very basic education on the assisted living communities industry.

We used to live and work in SanFran. 

In other words, these sources claim that you can't buy a property solely for investment purposes (like renting it out) without living in it yourself.Is anyone familiar with this law or regulation?

For me, it's less about leaving the larger platforms, and more about creating additional relationships that could lead to bookings.