What I was thinking was that I would use about $15K from the equity in my house, renovate key areas in the house (a lot of the work I can do myself) and then sell it for $385K (that is about the average the comps in my neighborhood are selling for).

The current appraisal is 2M, by rule of 72, the home will reach 4M (I really do not have any doubt - it will appreciate) as this is in key area near by Apple , Google head quarters.

No, not the whole zipcode is pleasant, there are a few key areas and a corridor that I like in particular.  

So you took the project and broke it into different key areas based on trade, found great workers in each trade to build a team and offered them the opportunity to work on your project?

Some of them will charge an inspection fee $50-100, some will do it for free because you do good business with them, either way it will be worth every penny.My key areas to check:Foundation - if its really old get a foundation specialist to check it out. 

I am finally at a point where I am ready to look for my first deal, and would like to start with a 2-4 unit residential income property in key areas of the Los Angeles and San Diego areas.

Here are a few tangible steps to help you really get started in your REI journey-Deal analysis: Analyze a ton of deals in your area or area of interest, become a pro at it, learn the going rent rates and get a feel for what a "good" deal is in your town-Laws: Learn the laws and rules that govern property ownership and being a landlord, your town may have specific rules, but also look at the state tenant laws too-Walk property: Go to as many open houses as you can find in and around your area, get a feel for what the inventory looks like, see if you can pay a handyman or contractor to walk through with you and point out issues in key areas of the homes, this way you can get an idea of what issues are deal breakers and what issues are minor 

While this area has seemed to be neglected for years to cater to the city region of Atlanta, with all of the recent developments underway in Atlanta, development is reaching a lot of key areas still within 15-20 minutes of the city.This area is comprised of Southwest Atlanta, East Point, College Park ITP, and Hapeville.Just recently, East Point has announced it's plan to develop it's own Beltline, which will be referred to as the East Point Path.