Its not easy down here, as getting anyone to answer a phone, show up when they say they will, or actually be qualified to do the job is not easy to come by. 1 in 10 know what they are doing or talking about. 

It sounds like its mostly wholesaling and flipping. 

Regardless of whether or not you can figure out the Prop 19 stuff this sounds like a fantastic way to get into the game.

They are often quite simple, have few parts, and can be easy to troubleshoot and even do some routine maintenance and minor repairs yourself.I've had to deal with a couple furnace issues in the last year, in both cases a bad logic board was the cause, and we only discovered this after having multiple HVAC companies come out and assess the problem, struggle to find the root cause, often replace other parts unnecessarily, and ultimately shrug their shoulders and recommend a full replacement at $5k+.In one case, I went online, bought a logic board and installed it myself to fix a furnace that wasn't working consistently.

If you have never done this before, allow someone with experience and a network to help you make a sound investment.

So I'm sorry if I sound dumb, but not every knows someone that knows someone that knows someone.

Does that sound accurate for this area?  

There's always deals out there if you're willing to swing the bat-- sounds like you found a good one with a seller who just needed to move on from the property one way or the other, and was willing to offer a discount to do it. 

The pool sounds like a liability nightmare alone.

@Monica C. it sounds like you might need a new tax guy!