We will harness the power of our tech ability to scan and filter many opportunities on and off the market to create a funnel of properties suitable for our strategy.

@Chris Ke With $200K for a down payment and the ability to invest full-time, consider starting with a 4-plex or multiple single-family homes (SFHs) within a 5-hour drive of Los Angeles in areas like San Bernardino or Riverside.

It seems you and your husband have the ability to make a property more desirable and I would try to stay local for the same reasons you listed. 

In particular, the ability to auto-sync and categorize bank transactions (similar to Stessa), easily track expenses against budgets, and streamline lease creation with lease templates is quite nice.

Provide them proof of your ability to find, fix, flip (or whatever strategy you plan to use), and then start with small amounts of their money.

Not every real estate agent is an investor, and not every agent focuses on 1-4 unit properties, let alone has the ability to purchase them.

It comes down entirely to your ability to commit to the deal and close it on time.

Credit is also going to hinder your ability to get a heloc, and lack of income for now. 

If you are a legal property manager in your state the owner should have the unfettered ability to allow you to act as his/her agent to enforce the lease, whatever provisions they may contain plus whatever your state laws allow.

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