But don't feel locked into formal education if your main goal is to get into investing, often the best lessons come from doing it.Feel free to reach out if you need any advice on financing your house hack or future investments.

Do what many from Ca have done and are still doing, buying rentals in the mid-west, Good luck 

You can influence your investment's performance through property improvements, rent adjustments, and savvy management... something you can't quite do with an annuity tied to obscure indexes.An Individual Retirement Account (IRA), particularly a Self-Directed IRA, can be used to invest in real estate and employ leverage to potentially enhance returns.

I don't love the idea of essentially being locked into holding them for a long time because it may take many years for them to appreciate enough to meet that premium, but I do like the idea of cash flow, low interest, and longer terms.

To do that however, you need to give them a list of what you are looking to accomplish (assuming you do not yet have any type of plan) and here is why...the scope of work will greatly vary the pricing and you will not be able to have an apples to apples comparison. 

On either an A class property or a commercial building, I would do preventative maintenance, but beyond that I wouldn't worry about it. 

And of course, do your due diligence, research, trust but verify! 

In your current situation, you can do a HELOC but only if the home is free and clear.

This is a bit tricky, but you can do an option-lease contract.

For years i have had a portfolio policy with Nationwide for my commercial plazas but they are not renewing me this year as they now require all buildings with a food use to be fully sprinklered (which i do not have).