I prefer the door.

Find a team: lender, RE agent (preferably one who also invests and knows the ins and outs of your strategy), attorney (investor friendly), insurance agent5.

I'm ready to make a purchase and prefer to keep it close to home in southern California.

Thinking to sell as I prefer single family homes with no HOA as rental properties (would do a 1031 exchange).

It seems like it would be a daunting task to find and contact every individual commercial brokerage.

Preferably as many units as possible but with hidden value in making improvements (the unfinished attic in our current house was a goldmine) a.My feeling is auctions are good place to go for this but I don’t know anything about auctions. 3.Rent a property to live in for the first year I can’t subject my fiancé to living in a gut rehab again 4.Use the cash generated from the property and work during that first year to put together a down payment for a house for us. 5.Re finance the rental property and buy more property.These are my other day one questions: 1.I’m an architect, does anyone have any advice for actively leveraging my skills to help me do this real estate investing thing full time/ what career change could help me ease into this while still having a salary?

I'd never even think about going to a meetup that prohibits certain individuals from attending. 

Mainly from google, but also from books from individuals such as David Greene and  Dave Van Horn. 

Technically, banks do want you  as an individual listed on the property.

If it's priced right, you'll get an agent's or individual's attention.