Does anyone have a few affordable skip tracing software's to start out with?

Rented it for a few years then slowly started making updates to increase rent.

Start your real estate investment journey with Brandon Turner's "The Stack" method, starting with small multifamily properties and gradually moving to larger ones.

When I first started I gave up a lot of profit to get the money to close these deals (up to 50%).

We will also birddog the best opportunities on the contracting side so i figure we can boost out hourly rate up to at least $100/hr (from 80), and jump from the build to contract jobs to take advantage (we have our own heavy equipment and dump truck).

Again, I don't want to speak for them or start rumors, rather see if anyone has any direct credible experience they can share.  

Go to meetups in your area and start making contacts.

That will give you a good baseline to start from.You can also use AirDNA by buying the specific area to drill down farther.Try https://www.awning.com/airbnb-estimator as well.

Get your feet wet before you jump into that.

I live in San Diego and Im also looking to start investing out of state with little to no experience.