My concern is that I'm going to get neck deep on a property and realize I had vastly underestimated the money it required or get hosed by a contractor.

I'm going to do a deep dive into the house hack method and I'll reach back out once I have some more questions.

You also need to have deep market knowledge.

I figure using a joint mortgage gives me a little more breathing room for learning and leaves me with extra cash for a potential real estate market dip in the near future to purchase a second property (probably outside of LA though).

Sounds like you have a well pit, wide enough for a person, but usually not very deep and easy to fill.

I stopped listening to Cardone long ago, because the BS was too deep.

Still, your hometown knowledge will be super valuable.I'm in LA, so I can speak to Oceanside with more knowledge.I was recently digging deep into Orange County coastal listings, and the most affordable area is Oceanside.

I would recommend lawyer continuing education seminars for someone wanting to go as deep as it sounds like you are.

@Matt McGuireI sell when people are buying and buy when people are selling.Right now everything I’m doing is a flip.When the market changes I want to do 20,30,50,100 rental units deep......

Or you could move the room door to make the closet deep enough.