Sounds like either some of the information provided may have been exaggerated or changed, or possibly you could have been dealing with an identity theft situation as well.

The property jumped another 100k less than a year after the sell as well as rents went up to support what would have been the new monthly debt if I refinanced and held. 

It's called a payoff statementif it's a big lender you will not buy the loan as it will take forever, you are better just paying it off. you then can foreclose based on the total balance owed to you which is both loans and any accrued interest. regarding fixing property or selling as is, that really depends and needs to be evaluated on a case by case basis 

The appraiser wouldn't even allow me to meet him which I had never had happen.  

The provider I am using allows for 60 days of continued coverage once construction is completed.

Are you focusing on local investments within LA County, or are you considering opportunities outside the area as well?

After 2 years you can apply for a “Rent consideration” (I think that’s what they called it) as long as you still live there and that may allow you to increase rents by more than the annual allowance (probably designed for unit that are very low rents).

From there we identify properties that could have some potential and if you are interesting in diving deeper, 1) we do a thorough video walkthrough to give you a realistic look of the property, 2) we give a ballpark estimate of rehab costs (we do 40 a year with our GCs o we will get pretty close), 3) we talk through market rent with our property management team, ARV, and potential highest and best use.Ideally you find great investor agents who know their market really well and have a network of resources to provide you with enough confidence to take reasonable action. 

I am bumping into more and more people that I consider fairly high achievers that seem to have someone coaching them to do better as well.

I agree with @Ashish Acharya if you're interested in reinvesting the proceeds into another investment property and your goal is to minimize your tax liability a 1031 would work out well for you.