I'd love to hear feedback and suggestions on what will make a good VR in that area, or are there areas I should look into.Also, I'd love to connect with agents, investors, lenders that are active in Tahoe or perhaps Reno that could help me build a team over there including contractors, cleaners, etc.

CA is not one of them.apartment managers that LIVE ON SITE do not need to be licensed but the rent still has to be collected through a license brokerage.. the on site manager just pass's the checks or rent to the licensed brokerage and there job is showings and day to day maintenance etc.. also referring tenant issues.. what U describe is a licensed activity.

Also, fine dining kitchens are way too volatile for me ;-)I've been reading a lot of forum posts and definitely plan to seek the advice of a real estate tax advisor but maybe with all the experience floating around there, y'all could give me some food for thought in the meantime.

A little bit about me and my expectations, I’m a active duty stationed in Camp Pendleton but in the next 6 months being transferred to 29 palms(both in California).

Second, don't use HELOC funds for long-term REI activities (e.g. buy and hold). 

So it might be hard to calculate your future payments if you were seeking to "buy and hold" properties. 

Unlike most my age, i know that i don’t know everything, so I am actively looking for mentors that could point in the right direction and help me avoid common pitfalls that most beginners make.

If you invest in an active trade or business the incomes/gains from such activities will result in your IRA owing UBIT (Unrelated Business Income Tax).

@Jason Wang if you were speaking with a bank who stated their loan limit is 4 please seek another lender RIGHT AWAY. 

Just remember: If you spend a ton of "time" doing activities that do not yield you the BIG returns (ie, finding more crazy awesome deals), then you could miss out on the next one.