It's outside of earthquake country, outside of forest fire country, outside of canyon fire country and we enjoy the drive (until we hit Riverside ;-)

@Dean Letfus This has been a great thread and really hits close to home.

However another issue that you will hit is the small loan amounts that you are seeking.

[How I think it would go] -> You Find a House -> Contact Owner -> If Good Price buy it and finance it [I do not know how I go about buying the property] -> while financing find a buyer [Not yet sure how to find a buyer efficiently] -> Negotiate and Sell [Not sure on how to protect myself]So basically I just need to know what papers are involved, how do I get the papers, Who do I need to get the house in my hands and then gone.Thank you for any help in advance

Paper assets also are not very tax efficient .

If there is a similar piece of land that you do not own then you could structure an exchange to fund both the lot purchase and the construction costs.You've hit on the conventional way to defer and possibly eliminate those taxes - the 1031. 

In my opinion starting with a house hack is the most efficient path forward.

Only other correction I want to make to the info above, you cannot eliminate PMI on this product until you hit a 65% Loan-to-Value on a 2-4unit...unless you refinance. 

Feel free to hit me up.Cheers!

Until you hit scale and learn the ropes, it can be challenging."