If you wanted to do this to help your brother, that shows high character and value on your side.

Record a video as I enter the rental, documenting it exactly how I found it.2.

Over the last few months I've become highly interested in investing, specifically flipping but also rentals, wholesales, buy & hold etc...

The rest of the ENTIRE house had a pile of empty beer cans several feet high. 

The rate will be high on the second though, so you may need to factor the blended rate. 

I was running some numbers and it seems to me that when you're doing a BRRRR you have two choices: you can either pull a lot of money out in the refinance, which then helps you scale up quickly, but then you leave yourself with a high mortgage payment, and little to no cash flow.

Regarding inspections, some PMCs will be at all, some will only be at the ones that have a high risk of failure or a problem tenant (renewal inspections).These are all questions you should ask when interviewing PMCs.Encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

A DST is a hands-off, institutional grade real estate investment (apartments, self storage, commercial, medical office, etc), that allows the investor the option to diversify into multiple markets around the country.

Main questions from here:  Is a coaching experience worth the high price tag?  

While California may present some challenges for investors due to high property prices and competition, there are still potential opportunities, as well as options in other states.