Since the BRRRR strategy relies so heavily on that third "R," you're taking on a huge amount of risk by dumping your money or, even worse, other people's money into a property.

You reminded me that I need to more heavily consider maintenance reserves, and liquid reserves in general.  

If you wish to be heavily active, I suggest you go down the road I did so you can not only learn, but potentially make more money by saving on some costs.Some contractors will not do labor only and will only do the job if they provide the materials so keep that in mind to.

From what I have read, they have cracked down on this pretty heavily...

You do win either way, it's really a question of if the huge capital gain (though taxed more heavily now) could be parlayed into more investments potentially. 

It's heavily "asset-based lending"/cashflow. 

I’m 28yo and new to property investing, granted I have heavily read/followed the ideology and strategies for the last three/five years so I figure now is a good time to jump both feet first and get wet.

However, if I'm actually living there, then the house has to be in a very specific geographic area since I am a single parent working full time relying heavily on family for childcare.

Traditional agents rely heavily on MLS listings, which is why you're not finding the numbers you're looking for.I've been doing this for 20 years, and trust me, it's worth spending more time finding the right specialist rather than focusing solely on properties.

I have been heavily considering the Big Bear area for reference.