Doing it this way requires great management skills and additional costs over doing it yourself, but it also may mean that you never have to visit a house yourself.

So I take it, that it would be best to visit a smaller branch within the area who understands the market.

Visit a store that sells natural gas appliances and bring the photo with you, the sales people may have an idea.

I'm not necessarily looking for appreciation as much as gaining equity through rent, and having a place to visit a couple time a year.

Visit a local REIA, look at CL ads, talk to other investors, etc.

The company has rapidly grown using this model, and they still do this kind of service, but there are few others who do.You can always go visit a turnkey company and their market on your own, and I do recommend it for a whole lot of reasons, especially when you are making the first investment with that company and in that market.  

Of course if you own at least one camera and it may visit a job site and possibly get installed at least for a period of time who's to say it doesn't need to be removed and sent to the shop for repairs now and then.

As Wes noted, going to visit a team you're considering is a fantastic way to either gain peace of mind or weed out a scammer, so consider shelling out a few hundred bucks and visiting any TK provider that makes it to your short list - you'll be glad you did.Ok, that's my own wall of text for you ;) I blah blah about this a lot, but if you are still considering TK, here's a link to a post I wrote a while ago for another CA investor.

Make the visit as short and quick as  is possible and say Yes when you can fix something and get this thing resolved.  

There are too many variables to consider, and every market is different.Do you regularly visit a specific city outside of San Diego where there are potentially lucrative deals?