I've been stressing out more than i have ever been just finding a house, which i naively thought would be a whole lot easier and that obtaining the down payment / finance would be the hardest part. tips or advice for my first purchase would highly appriciated!  

I have info on how to obtain the loan for this as of now and I know zoning conversion won't be an issue.

And now for the legally correct answer...Since he has stopped paying rent (and they have, I'm assuming, an agreement where he has paid rent in the past), she provides him with a 3 Day Pay or Quit notice IF her goal is to obtain rent from him.  

Once she obtains that, she can work on her own, and even hire other agents. 

If you live in CA in want to compartmentalize your assets and obtain anonymity, the DST is the only way to go. 

Currently, I'm in the process of obtaining a HELOC, which combined with a cash on hand should net me around 100k to start.

I believe this can be obtained by dialing an IRS automated line.

Note: they have had much success obtaining these credits in previous projects and just completed a project in our local area. 

Anyways, as odd as it may sound, even with being a principal in the near future, I know that would involve spending way too much time to obtain the money and time that I am interested in having.

I like to obtain some real world experience doing a transaction.