Also, while you live there you are no longer spending that money to live in a similar unit, thus you have reduced your expenses by 1 unit of rental income.

They are telling me they can fund purchase/rehab and down payment assistance for 0% for 12 months. 

Regardless, I have been spending a lot of time trying to get a pulse on the market and what types of properties would work for me once moving out there. 

My agent and broker is not assisting me in trying to recover my earnest money.

There’s not a lot of ways for you to both “win”, unless you pay her what it’s worth as is, spend money on repairs and then sell it again.

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Depending on what you find gives you more insight on if you want to spend that court money versus keeping deposits if any.

The goals that I hope to achieve through real estate investing are: 1) to provide a cash flow stream for my mother as she gets older and requires assisted living or nursing home facilities, 2) provide a cash flow stream for my younger brother (who has Down's Syndrome) as he gets older and requires assisted living facilities and increased medical attention, and 3) provide a means of early retirement for me and my older brother.While listening to BP podcast #276 (my favorite) the other morning, I had that lightbulb moment of how to get started in real estate investing. 

Regarding: Assistance Animals In CA, I'm a landlord of an upstairs space inside our single family home.

Let's hope none of us make the mistake of spending half a million dollars on something we don't want.