When I bought my first investment property it was much easier on my real estate agent (and me) primarily because I had rebuilt the kitchen and bath in my primary by myself.

Example - replace kitchen cabinets that are serviceable to ones that are new & modern or replacing the roof. 

Having had the joy of white kitchen cabinets for the last 1.5 years, my thoughts are, I hate them.

Purchase price: $605,000 Cash invested: $242,000 Sale price: $1,012,000 We converted the garage into the kitchen and took the roof off the garage and added a master suite.

We had to wash the walls, then prime and paint them, as well as washing and painting the cabinet faces in the kitchen (building is in a C neighborhood).

Very good lighting inside&out (on a timer), plus motion activated lights as much as possible/appropriate (they make super bright LARGE led ones, even solar now so don't need to be hard wired). 

Also, totally can relate with you being from an expensive real estate market - I moved to Columbus a few years ago (from Portland, Oregon which was super expensive) to become a full time real estate investor, and ever since, I've completed quite a lot of BRRRRs, flips, and own a successful rental portfolio here in Columbus Ohio.

Order something from every bar, order something from every restaurant, make the waitresses work for you, tour the place- the restrooms- the kitchens- the back of the house and walk the entire outside of the building. 

As a first timer, most lenders will require a minimum of 25-20% down.

Any time rent is going to increase more than 15-20%, I recommend you move that tenant out, spruce the place up, and rent it at market rate to a tenant of your choosing.