Prices are around $300K for what he's looking for (total costs around $2000/mo, and income will be around $4439/mo... but if he has 2 roommates each paying $700/month, it's totally doable. 

Today an almost $19,000 charge came in which totaled the renovation charges to almost $22,000.

Depending on the loan amount for the new property, roughly a little over half of the gain could be deferred through the exchange.Without a 1031, they’ll face taxes on the entire gain, including federal capital gains tax (likely 15% based on their income), California state tax, and depreciation recapture, potentially totaling $130-150K.

Investment: $200K; ROI: 26.29%/year; 10-year equity: $1.1M; Total cash return: $1.2M. 10-year equity multiple: 8x on $200K investment.

The current owner listed last years income as $51,000, but currently has rents at (for the five separate units): $650, $750, $800, $825, $1125 (the math doesn't totally add up so maybe he changed a rent payment at some point). 

Explore my personal favorites, Set For Life by Scott Trench or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, for invaluable financial insights.3.

I was just on their website looking at the permit process:CityofSac-STR PermitLooks like 90 days max until you get a conditional use permit but still reading as it seems a little unclear:A short-term vacation rental may operate from a location that is not the operator's primary residence for a total of 90 days in a calendar year.

If a PM handled similar situations, they would be using their HVAC go to technician, they would take a certain % of the total and add ontop of it for themself, parts would probably get marked up, it would be like 3x. 

They were total add-ons.

@Zach Denny Did you ever put your deal together, if so I'd be curious what the bank required on CLTV and if you had to source the total down payment (PP-First Loan) then apply seller second, or if the bank let you do all that at closing functionally making your DP = PP-First Loan-Second Loan.