I think it's one of the most underrated ways to create value right now, especially considering California's difficult development landscape. 

REI is an ever changing landscape and you're chances for success are greater when you learn from and hear from others who have the experience.

Fix Flip- only do surface style changes- flooring, landscape, roof, windows, etc. 

Something that didn’t need a complete overhaul but something that I would do light cosmetic cleanup in a good area.Reason being is that let’s say I bought a 5 unit building for 500k and put $100k down.Let’s assume that building has $100k in annual gross rents.

Bought under assessed value, slight value add through cosmetic rehab (paint, light fixtures, flooring) What was the outcome?

Functionally, it operates as a 2-story home since the downstairs area has multiple windows in each room and plenty of natural light.

But using that mindset, so is landscaping, plumbing, or clean out during turnover.

There is some additional information that wasn't mentioned in your post above which sheds a different light on the situation.  1.

Principal changing his name (sometimes just slightly) to walk away from previous recordIMO a light search, like Google, is a good FIRST STEP in vetting a deal.  

On paper, it looked brilliant..cheap money, quick turnaround, and a profit projection that made his eyes light up.It taught me that the real risk isn’t just the cost of capital, it’s the predictabilty of your exit strategy.