My question is, does anyone have any tips or advice on the best way to spend this year that will continue to propel (even accelerate) our RE investment journey? 

Our ADU has a long-term tenant, so it sounds like I should be able to show the lease and inquire at the assessor's office about decreasing the tax rate to 4% then (thank you for the tip on that, Troy!).

I am fairly new to real estate investing and was looking forward on any tips or advice on how I can get started in my local area.

Its the book that really inspired me to invest out of state and offered actionable tips for out of state investors.

1) Hire a good agent with solid relationships in the market place2) waive contingencies 3) Use an escalation clause and escalate in strong increments4) Find out if anything besides price is important to the sellers

@Michael Penny   The buyer is the state itself, and there aren't necessarily any tests, though the state agency has been known to do so basically unannounced / unsolicited (if they get tipped off etc) particularly in the wetlands areas which they have greater regulatory jurisdiction over.

From my experience in sourcing code violation cases from different areas of the country I can tell you that if the situation isn't remedied and it escalates the fines and liens will be levied against you the homeowner - not the tenant. 

What are 1-3 most important tips in Real Estate Investing that you wish you knew when you first started out? 

Would love to connect sometime.I appreciate the tips, @Kyle Kershner.

(Trash is included in my HOA fee)It's a 2 year lease, and there's an auto-escalation for year #2 -  where it goes up another $100 per month.