You can find rentals here for a very cheap price point - $120k-$180k!

Buy some cheap (by San Diego standards) agriculture land and either wait, rezone, or develop.

If a crappy area, I would not try to STR it, since you will likely be getting people who want a CHEAP place to stay.  

Additionally, the price point is still cheap enough to find the 1% rule and positive cash flow and it's super landlord friendly (so you will never have to go through a 12 month eviction or anything close to that!).

Tough neighborhoods still, but plenty of fixer uppers and low cost plots make it ideal for scrappy individual investors looking to get started on the cheap.

I like ceiling fans, they're as cheap as many regular fixtures and add value IMO making the unit show well.  

Additionally, the price point is still cheap enough to find the 1% rule and positive cash flow and it's super landlord friendly (so you will never have to go through a 12 month eviction or anything close to that!).

.#5  If you still think you want to rent, you can get a PM, typically that will be about 10% a month and don't go cheap on that. 

With many people working from home, it isn't uncommon to require tenants to be available for repairmen or appliance deliveries.

Chicago should have some good ones for cheap.