im not sure which type of brick wall you are referring too, but framing wont vary much on cost for the same wall that is load bearing verses non load bearing. its more a function of materials and complexity. as for bundling, anything is negotiable. in general, i have found it much easier to negotiate with contractors for bigger versus smaller jobs. put yourself in their shoes, a bigger job has more security and profit. i would be willing to accept lower rates for a project that will take 4 weeks versus one that takes 2 days. 

My father was right, I should of followed his shoes in this skill/craft of bricklayer instead of a engineer.

If I were in your shoes, I would at least tell the agent who referred that inspector to you.

Would be great to hear from people who were in my shoes a couple of years ago how they were able to scale from 0 to 10+ doors quickly.

This isn't hard to understand for someone with an IQ above their own shoe size.

That being said, I've looked at properties in places like Kansas City and Columbus and they look much more attractive, especially as a new investor who'd prefer to risk less.So my question to you is, if you were in my shoes starting out would you pay more and invest close to home in a pricier West Coast market, or build a "core four" team and invest OOS?

I know the East Asian furnished-home-feature desirability checklist (shoe storage at entrance, good rice cooker, good cooktop, exterior venting extraction hood), but is there something I'm missing for a South Asian audience? 

I will be in your shoes one day.

Loopnet.com has some interesting properties and I love to see what is for sale in my area, but I think I've been looking at loopnet for about 20 years and never ever found a property that was price so I (not my broker) could make a profit.The best way to find a property where you can make the best profit is by putting on some comfortable shoes and literally walk like a real man, unannounced, directly into real estate offices, make it very clear that you are INVESTING FOR DOLLARS, ask what they have for sale and they almost always have what is called 'Pocket Listings' that are properties their good clients want to sell, but they don't want to put the property on an MLS service for some reasons, or they want to see if they can sell the property, first, and then list it on MLS.Most often, the brokers pull something out and then comes the really hard part.

That would be job 1 if I were in your shoes.