My wife and I live in Santa Barbara, CA and love spending time outside in this beautiful city.   

Does the 1031 get tricky to pull off with having to match up the timing of buying and selling? 

Full service STR PM market is 25%.  

I'd encourage you to try to find the unassuming guy that drives an old truck/car, buys his clothes at Costco, and never brags about how many properties he owns.I'm just a small time landlord but I'd be happy to help if you think that I can be a resource.

The reason being you are correct, many times the borrower is not qualified for the loan, so my response to that is why do I want to give a loan to a borrower who does not have the ability to repay.

I've recently finished a Master's degree and have no job which means that I have time to dedicate to REI.

I think you're missing a key ingredient: how much time do you have to earn your 20%?

I would highly recommend RE cost seg, they do give us a kickback for referrals though full disclosure.

I think it's time for a new hire!

When you need to know something I believe in “just in time learning” afterall its not what you know it’s who you know that matters.