@Remus Phillips Your best bet is to shop around at local (or at least regional) banks.

It really gets down to whether or not the park community is in the PATH of PROGRESS or in the BLIGHTED PATH of NO OR SLOW RETURN? 

You're already in a great area for passive income, which puts you a step ahead of other new investors.If you have an idea already of the type of investment you're looking to get into, I'd recommend adding some progressively specific keyword alerts so you know if anyone starts talking about your holy grail of niche, market, provider, etc.

It's my turn to give him a smirk and ask when he'll pay off the bet.

Have you tried giving them a very detailed daily scope of work and checking on the progress daily?

Many of those that do have a college degree majored in an unrelated subject.You aren't the only one struggling with this, I'll bet 90% of the people on this site struggle with the same issues.I see you're in CA. 

But i think real estate is a safe bet until the next black swan event anyway.

If you are not a realtor, using Zillow or Yelp will be your best bet.

I would think that assuming that it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to bring them up to code, that might be your best bet.        

Also, with State Farm being as well financially backed as they are, you can bet you will be taken care of should a lawsuit occur at one of your properties.