I respect your many years of experience Jay but want to bring some perspective from the other side of the table.In a corporate office which is running 10, 20 or even 50 projects at once (depending on the firm size), what is the benefit for the Architect to drop their other projects to jump on yours quicker?

You get the benefit of the depreciation and most of the bugs and recalls ar worked out.Let her "enjoy and reward herself" by buying a property. 

They've figured out how to take advantage of the warranty policies to benefit themselves.

Additionally I want to keep reserves for small cosmetic Renovations as needed.

One issue I've uncovered in this is that they also add a $75 "admin fee" in addition to the percentage based "supervisory fee."

Additionally, what’s a realistic amount of capital needed to get started?

I am based in Ventura and have experience managing rentals and we work with all kinds of investors in addition to being an investor as well. 

I’m a real estate professional, and we benefit from tax strategies.Would you sell or keep renting?

(Be sure to factor in vacancy, PM fees, maintenance, etc in addition to PITI)•Do you have additional reserves to cover unexpected expenses like long than expected vacancies, high turnover costs, or major repairs (e.g., HVAC or roof replacements)?

Equity/appreciation (and tax benefits) are important, but you need enough cash flow to be able to stay in the game.3.