If you plan to invest close to the bay area, I suggest looking at Brentwood.

Trying to make some passive income and open to suggestions 

The laws have addressed this since the 80sWe routinely still review prospect returns, some prepared by the Big 4, where there is incorrect reporting!

And later on, take advantage of the 1.1 acres and put up Yurt/ Dome / Tiny house etc as a glamping setup.Pictures:The 3d model Front view ( The barn with loft)Right view (Barn, Kitchen and .. the back part I lovingly call, the pizza) == also, what i plan to do with it.back view ...Current view and the Planned renovation viewThe left side view Location:115 miles from NYC ( 140 minutes)12 miles from Woodstock and Hunter ski mountain. ( 25 mins)8 miles to HITs Saugerties (15 mins)25 minutes to Hudson.The cities I have just mentioned are the TOP Airbnb locations in Hudson Valley/ Catskills as listed below. ( I wrote a scraper program to get all the Airbnb data) city Total number of homes on airbnb Total number_of_reviews average number of reviews Woodstock 141 7720 54.75177305 Hudson 142 6636 46.73239437 Phoenicia 57 3458 60.66666667 Saugerties 125 2983 23.864 New Paltz 66 2237 33.89393939 Beacon 54 1860 34.44444444 Catskill 45 1761 39.13333333 Hunter 79 1445 18.29113924 Rhinebeck 48 1413 29.4375 Kingston 62 1380 22.25806452 Kerhonkson 32 1293 40.40625 Accord 29 1275 43.96551724 High Falls 20 1122 56.1 Tivoli 14 940 67.14285714 Olivebridge 13 886 68.15384615 Rosendale 16 834 52.125 Cold Spring 19 813 42.78947368 Athens 11 803 73 Mount Tremper 23 762 33.13043478 Stone Ridge 17 742 43.64705882 Windham 60 740 12.33333333 Germantown 34 718 21.11764706

Take the time to thoroughly review policies and ask questions to ensure you make an informed decision. 

it took me a couple days of working thru the math, watching some vids suggested by @Bill F. to really start understanding the power of these calculations. 

From your experience has anyone in your market ever closed a deal using unconventional methods such as the ones i suggest above?

Participate in due diligence or operations.We require our partners to do more than bring capital  EMD (or capital at risk) and participation in DD are two of the most common - could be walking units - could be market research - secret shopping similar properties in the area - reviewing the UW etc etc  Yes be careful  Do it right.

We suggested they start a business and buy through the business name but aren't sure about that either. 

Do they provide a Perpetual Cost Segregation Evergreen Annual Review to find annual expenses from dispositions, additions, favorable changes in tax laws?