So I basically am going to need to shop around for these loans that aren’t standard, but they exist.Right now I’m gathering the funds for a down payment for my first investment.  

It's not that there aren't opportunities here, it's just that my out of state properties have a manager so I basically am retired.

He may be willing to reduce the price by RE agent costs that he would incur with a traditional sale but a bigger discount than that would basically be a gift.Someone that does not have the capital to purchase a SFR in San Diego I would think is unlikely to have the capital to supplement negative cash flow from owning the SFR. 

You cant prove that she stole the $$....so that may be a roadblock in court if it goes that far

As for HOAs, they aren't cheap but they reduce your insurance costs, and assuming you have a good association they take care of capital and maintenance costs, so it's not like the money is thrown away--you're basically just outsourcing certain expenses via that means.

The basic goals are:  1)  Cash flow/month to cover monthly bills; 2)  Profit to pay off personal debt.Once these Financial Goals are established, you can then "reverse engineer" your plan from these goals back to your current situation. 

It's a government agency and basically immune to counterclaims.

Being honest and transparent still seems to go over well in America and in the courts.

Basically just to have a property that produces some income and also gives me the ability to set aside some days if I want to go hang out downtown.  

Basically take the first one and add the F and T to Flagship Team in the smaller font.