@Kate Zieverink McMinn we just hosted a webinar with a friend in Orange County, CA that used to be a public works engineer.

Additionally house tenants bring more of their own appliance, like refrigerator, washer and dryer; which means tenants are responsible for repair and replacement of their own appliances. 

Get a degree in Finance or Engineering and you'll graduate with a world of possibilities. 

Understand Replacement cost versus original building costs. 

I've done fairly big renovations where in most cases, Im replacing almost everything in/on the house.

i wish i had better news for you but it's probably not feasible in the short term to replace your W2 income with rental income. 

I found it but reverse engine my own search.

These methods include: Detailed Engineering Cost ApproachDetailed Engineering Cost Estimate ApproachSurvey or Letter ApproachResidual Estimation ApproachSampling or Modeling ApproachExperience or “Rule of Thumb” ApproachIt’s important to understand the differences between the approaches including which one best fits your property and the reliability of each approach.DETAILED ENGINEERING COST APPROACHThis approach compiles the costs from construction and accounting reports to build a report.

It's a big money maker for architects, engineers, and contractors, but not a huge opportunity for investors, nor should it be. 

I can search it but same deal, the search engines don't evaluate the results.