Make sure you can financially afford to bring the units up to market condition and then dig in, get the work done (if needed) and raise the rents. 

The objective is to find affordable houses in this crazy market (especially in WA)!

@Tyler Stone if you can't find someone to hang your license with, I would not view the time you spent on the salesperson courses as a waste/mistake.I often recommend to new investors that they consider sitting through all the pre-license courses (even if they don't ultimately take the exam) as they're a great education and introduction to real estate, and very affordable compared to the information gained.I also tell them that since literally anyone can become a real estate agent, the class (especially an in-person class) can have some... colorful characters🤣Even if you never become an active agent, it's a very good set of introductory knowledge about real estate, and it's also very helpful to know when dealing with agents in the future - as you almost certainly will at some point.

I am able to afford the extra payments and was primarily wanting to use this capital to scale my real estate portfolio via BRRRR.

In my opinion, if you can only afford to buy a duplex, etc. in a bad neighborhood, keep saving.

I am a new investor based in Southern CA but like most can't afford to buy my own home here.

My two short-term objectives are: Scale up my portfolio by accumulating a bunch of BRRRR deals in more affordable markets by relying on a strong boots on the ground team.

Call the city building department and/or health and safety department. 

Since then I've been obsessed in finding a way to make it happen given my situation, I believe it isn't a typical situation..I currently live in affordable housing tied to my employer and the city.

People in bankruptcy are afforded protections and if you don't follow those protections the penalty is often far worse then anything else.