The same with cleaners and maintenance people.

Congratulationswhat you’ve found that both the INVESTMENT side of real estate, and theBUSINESS side are very competitive; therefore profit margins are compressed, so those “home runs” people like to bragg about are actually quite rare.  

Quote from @Jim Vasica: I would get some people out there to quote it..

For a lot of people they will ve so overwhelmed and in shock that they just want to walk away.

CA is brutal when it comes to taxes.I don't give tax or legal advice, but many people believe that holding the property in your name and having a good umbrella policy is a good solution.

I'm based in WI and there are several people from NY investing here, some successful and some not---the common thread I see from the ones that are not is that they relied on someone else for information instead of investigating, VERIFYING and doing their own due diligence. 

Don't expect these people to have anything to do with you once the transaction is over and a lot of bitter, nasty fights along the way. 

The idea of restricting what you do with your own cash, just because it was a refi, is probably unconstitutional.I know a lot of people investing in Texas from both inside and outside Texas. 

Mistake #3 was not having knowledgeable people around to be able to ask questions.

This group is full of knowledgeable people, though you may sometimes get conflicting advice.