I've read 30% in a couple of articles which led me to believe I would need more upfront to get started. 

Have a look at BP's blog where new articles are published every day: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog 4.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the Marysville, OH area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

Hi everyone,Been listening to the BP podcasts and reading the blog but this is my first post!

(if so, please let me know).As for the seismic retrofitting of older homes, I'm no expert on the topic, but from the few articles I've read, the retrofits are often aimed at preventing the roof from collapsing and chimneys from falling--the goal is to give the occupants a better chance of survival/escape (which should obviously be the top priority).

Here is another alternative, and a good article to read.

I've learned more in these forums than reading books, blogs, or anything else. 

This article came out yesterday from the OC Register stating 51% of properties purchased in the area were bought by investors.

There was a very good article on BP about a year ago about impacts of our changing climate, particularly in areas subject to drought, high heat and humidity.

Stay consistent as you may need to contact these owners 10-15 times before they agree to sell to you.Let me know if you have any other questions, and check out this article from Forbes explaining different types of motivated sellers. https://www.forbes.com/sites/f...