You're taking your housing payment, which most of us have, and making it count toward investing as well.I was going to say something similar to @Jaron Walling - set your expectations differently.  

I have to remove the nails on the walls, add fillers, touch up and repaint some part of the home.

The build-to-rent trend has been on the rise, thanks to Hedge Funds and Wall Street getting heavily involved in the industry.

It is a clean slate walls-and-studs-only building.

If the cleaning was excessive in the walls were damaged above normal, wear and tear then you can charge them.

Hopefully, this first investment will launch our journey in real estate.Here are some criteria we have in mind:Not in downtown SacramentoClass C+ or B location, since we will be living in one unit (we just want a safe location)Units with shared walls, not ceilingsSeparately meteredFairly renovated or well-maintained (not a fixer-upper, but if one unit is renovated and the others need some work, we would love the experience of fixing and renovating)Can you think of any other factors we should consider?

Many many times there are telltale signs around the house based on visible work that there is plenty of hack work behind the walls, but most home inspectors don't know those.

If you do not have quality documentation working together to build a wall against lawsuits and creditors then your wall will just fall down on you. 

use stuff like these for 10 days https://www.amazon.com/Diffuser-Homeweeks-Colorful-Essential...

Wall st vs main street is wide, and it's going to get wider before it tightens.