I ended up getting about $20k back at closing (on a purchase) and used that to start my renovations on the vacant units.

I got my start in 2017 doing what you tried, STR arbitrage near Disneyland.

Hi, I have exceptional FICO score (above 850 out of 900) and am looking to earn passive income on it, with low risk, for example in real estate, low tenant risk, and I am willing to pay monthly fees to managing agents, but not too much sunk fees at start. 

I’m a  new landlord so I don’t know where to start. 

I recently retired from the military and now I am ready to start Chapter 2.

Let me ask this -- if you are a - "these things are illegal/unethical/wrong/stupid/or whatever person -- start a new thread. 

Of course one can hire professionals with those skill sets, but for me and my family living in a new city where we didn't know many people, managing and budgeting for large scale renovations would have been a really difficult task when we were starting out our real estate journey while also navigating full time work outside of real estate simultaneously. 

I do plan on investing by next year 2025, but I do want to increase my knowledge a little bit more and possibly find a mentor and work with one just to get my feet through the door, and start investing by next year. 

We get a few posts a month about starting one up and this is great evidence that the city is really cracking down.Plus the arbitrage thing...sneaky baaastaaads!

I live in Southern California and want to start investing in property and grow that, I only have $30k-$40k what are my best options?