I'm 23, single, with no kids and have a good job with a good salary and a well-defined promotion and raise schedule.

Define what your "lead" is and have the broker pay based on per-record... they do "advertising" using the information in your lead.

I was going to say exactly what @Shane Woods said above...As a 1099 entity, your contractors have the right to define their own hours (within certain parameters), use subs if they want, define how they'll get the job completed, etc.

Though prices in southern California are extremely high in most areas, the upside is that we have a great, broad based economy, high median household incomes (meaning people can afford the rents) perfect year round weather that draws people from around the world when their area is having extreme cold, plus all the amusements, sports, recreation, etc. imaginable!

Lots of great discussions daily.BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Once you take a look through those resources, you will hopefully have your goals defined and a high level overview of real estate.

I would strongly suggest to define profit ahead of time in a partnering deal.Investing is about the numbers all of the time.

Many new folks ask such broad questions that they can't be answered in a forum.

You should be able to define your criteria and get the actual MLS reports that lists rents, how utilities are paid, the asking price, taxes, HOA fees and everything else you need to run your own set of numbers.Rent comps come from craigslist, phone calls, REIA meetings and zillow.Happy Hunting!!

DEFINATELY get multiple bids.

Perhaps you have already done this, but I'd suggest starting out by defining your goal(s).