It also involved land trusts to aid in offering the best financing options while also offering you anonymity. 

Your best bet is to build a relationship with a quality independent agent that can shop the right carriers to get the coverage you are looking for.

I think that investing in the Long Island area, although competitive, would be your best bet.

I would love to get any referrals I can at this point, my real estate involvement at this point is mainly intellectual and I will definitely need to start growing my contacts list.

Since your main income isn't tied to CA and you plan to have profits coming in from OOS rentals, I bet you'd save money on state income taxes by no longer being a CA resident. 

He said to get a co-signer but I'd rather not get my parents involved. 

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

I know I am still always learning, your best bet is keep going, keep observing, see who buys what, who buys where, what prices do they pay in what conditions, see if you can see who got a good deal and a bad deal, little by little you will get more comfortable and familiar - but it takes time and patience, I remember in the beginning I would get REALLY frustrated.

I bet they aren't too concerned with who they place in your units. more turnover=more $$ in their pocket.

", etc...Here's your immediate plan (I bet you thought I was just going to shoot this "plan" down didn't you?