You will be doing all these reno just to make $30k/$50k in equity if all goes as planned.... 10% of the ARV, plus I am not counting holding costs, that would eat up all your equity that you made on the flip. 

If you are a developer that has 10 projects and you make millions each time on 7 of them but the other 3 fail upfront and you lost hundreds of thousands per deal likely still making great return overall.If you are smaller developer with 1 or 2 projects that can really eat into your net worth burning upfront cash on a project seeing if it will take off or not.You could 1031 as mentioned and just buy something yourself.

I’d eat up all my profit in rent in a mortgage but I’ll be able to add some great value and hopefully get a 18 unit or larger building with the leverage. 

It may just take you some time to figure out what the right amount is, but if you just bought this property you probably already know the historical utility expenses.The downsides are obvious - if your water bill is higher than the rate you are charging, you as the owner are going to eat that charge.

(usually without local managers that "eat" my income).PM if you would like to get some tips on Out of country investing I will be happy to contribute.

However also scared of putting all my eggs in one basket.

Even though your condo may see additional appreciation, you can't eat equity.

Plus, you're incurring additional expenses that eat into whatever equity you do build up in your 2-3 years.Fair warning, the rest of this may seem like a bit of a downer but having just spent 5 years stationed in San Diego and, after a lot of research, deciding to rent while there and invest in other markets, I think it's worth presenting for you to consider. 

(the personal one went through fine, just not the business one, income isn't an issue) Or do I suck it up and just eat the lost money?

Large Multifamily can easily afford a property management company without eating too much into the profit.