San Fernando Valley opportunity

[Trevor Baker]

I'm a newbie at this, so looking for some advice.  I'm in the Southern California area.  

I have a customer/ friend who is a real estate broker and is aware I've been looking for real estate investment opportunities.  He told me of a house available in the Winnetka area of the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles.  He is a friend of a friend of the owners.  The house is not yet on the market.

The house is owned by an elderly couple who are both now in assisted living.  Apparently the family just want to sell the house to pay for the couples living expenses.  So, this "deal" has been offered to me.

The house is pretty solid, but needs some updating.  The "Zestimate" is $522,500 (yes I know this is just an estimate).  It needs about $25K in mostly cosmetic renovations.  Going rent would be around $2600/month.  I can get the house for $450,000.  

With 20% down, and most of the variable unknowns, it looks like a negative cash flow situation.  I know in the long run, it should appreciate and I'd be okay.  I'm just worried about something major going wrong and eating up any income I get.  

So, besides getting feedback on the buy & hold option above, what about just doing a quick buy and sell?  If the "Zestimate" is in the ballpark, and I can get it for $450,000.  Does it seem reasonable that I could sell it fairly quickly for $510,000 and make some $ there?  If that's my intention, do I still need to go through the whole titling process?  Would it be better to do the basic renovations or let the next owner do it?

This was my first time using the BP Rental calculator, so I may be off on some of my estimated entries, but here it is...

Thanks in advance for any input.