It sounds like you are low on cash as well so your only real option is diving into the city and pray you have the balls to make money and not be killed. 

I have $1M cash and $1.5M in paid off real estate assets, no debt, and no 'real' income. 830 FICO.I want to leverage my assets and start BRRRR to secure retirement for the kids, getting the ball rolling so they can have paid off properties by the time they retire.$1m cash isn't really enough to buy many cheap properties in Socal.

I know that for many new investors, to have a good credit score and be able to qualify for loans are crucial for the exercise of the BRRRR or any related strategies.

And I am pretty certain you'll get some good appreciation in Spring, on top of your cash flow.Somebody here suggested running this through the BP calculator and I think that is a great exercise. 

Remember, the QB doesn't throw the ball where the wide receiver is.

But of course, understanding this, I would still look to be as passive as possible in the investment, and am trying to go through the mental exercise of how to do that with a smaller apartment complex, specially since the feedback I get is that it's not possible without thing being riddled with headache and a ton of work.

They want it because they are tired of working for money, doing something they’d rather NOT do.They want to spend more time with family, friends, travel, pursue passions, exercise, and more.So, it’s fair to say that for most people, when you really dig in and ask them, their definition of “financial freedom” is having passive income coming in, WITHOUT WORKING, so that they can do all of the above things.That’s good, we’ve narrowed down what most people, and probably you, really want.

I just want to keep the ball rolling for prospective tenants before I propose a raisesince in this pandemic situation it may probably take longer than usual to find another tenant.Appreciate your feedback.Thanks

My plan was to travel a lot and I spent 2019 doing that. 2020 has thrown a curve ball but I did have an awesome dive trip in January. 

One exercise I do is I imagine every spend/investment using the 1% rule.