I currently live in California, so naturally there really isn't too much available around where I live.

Find an 80% on the value deal and go find private lender money to give you a private first mortgage, Pay them 6 to 7%Need to find Hardmoney lenders we can develop a relationship with for properties that need a lot of workLastly you need portfolio lenders, it will lend you 80% of appraisal with no skin in the game.

Naturally, this will be a owners occupied situation.

My goal was to get into buy and hold and make my way up to commercial MF, etc etc, so when I would talk to her about REI she naturally was inclined to do the same.

This is not for the faint of heart and you learn to become thick skinned and assertive, proactive and a hard lined manager/owner.There can be many things that can go wrong and things can easily get out of your control.But if you take a professional approach to things , plan and prepare, become knowledgeable and competent you can turn this toward your benefit and joy.

I've been very interested in the crowdfunding industry over the past few years, and think that BiggerPockets is a natural place for real estate crowdfunding to evolve - lot's of knowledgeable but low net worth investors here on the platform, with the intellect and background to invest, but lacking opportunity.I will be following this thread, and hope to see some great tips and advice.  

I think you have a good plan for wealth building through investing, but I would suggest partnering up with an experienced investor for your first few projects in order to get some skin in the game.

However, it was intended to solve the problems associated with majority owners of fractionalized interests being restricted by the lack of action or decision-making of minority owners.Have equal interests can be a disadvantage if a stalemate exists and your partner, when an entity or natural person, has different plans. 

It is my nature to be suspicious of especially good (looking) deals, I assume that I am missing something.Kelly

Everybody is different, and there is no right or wrong answer - it's comfort level.Obviously, because of the field I'm in, I do see the value of having insurance, but oftentimes investors may not feel that way if they have thin margins on a property, and are faced paying a large chunk of their profits for an insurance policy; especially in areas that have higher property premiums due to natural catastrophes, i.e., Florida.The bottom line is whatever amount you are willing to lose dictates if you will get that policy or not.