He gives off sleazy used car salesman vibes when communicating with him and I worry about giving him any money only to never hear from him again. 

We obtained a hard-money loan from Upright to help us fund this deal.

Access to an STR isn't essential, but helpful and bonus when it's personal usage time..- Insurability & Operations costs: Can be considerably lower (especially in comparison to CA) with most coastal regions there is much lower wildfire risk and the properties that are in flood zones, have surprisingly accessible and affordable policy costs.

I started almost a year ago..its been a journey but no horror stories...yes drama but no horror...the person I was considering hiring to oversee the project decided to take the project on which was a dream come true...thx for your advice ..i did what you advised and then got lucky!

What you probably mean is that you think you can make enough money as a wholesaler to start investing, but that is 1 in 10,000 or more probably who start.

If not then you need to use financing like hard money or private money. 

First person I met was the section 8 case worker.

Your personal assets are protected with a viel, which can be pierced under certain circumstances.

I think you might end up leaving quite a bit of money on the table.

I use a broker, they do the leg work and since their interest is in my success, as opposed to an insurance sales person who's only interest is making commissions.