Hey John, properties that have been on the market for more than 30 days typically start receiving offers below the asking price, as buyers often perceive them as having room for negotiation.

It's going to be tough to buy a property without steady W2 income.  8k is a good start, but you might need to keep saving.  

Most folks start as leasing agents and work their way up from there. 

Don't be paralyzed thinking you don't know enough to get started.

Due to item 1, adding an ADU can require years to start achieving any return (once the accumulated cash flow recovers the initial negative position).4) Adding an ADU is a slow process.

It’s impressive how you took this single-family fix-and-flip from start to finish, self-financing and managing the project as the GC.

Starting off you will not do a zero sum investment plus get other people to invest.  

so you're recommending that my starting point should be finding a real estate agent, utilize theirbknowledge to learn about the process, and get referrals for good loan officers.

If you’re thinking about diving in, I say go for it—but maybe don’t start by living in a closet.

Hi Bruce, i'll start by saying i'm a mortgage person, so please understand the context in which my response is coming from. you'd need to create CC&Rs/bylaws and establish an HOA in order to do this.