I'd say 100-130k is a good range for price per unit and even then it's a bit low which means you're probably looking at a C or lower neighborhood.

Is a bet on capital appreciation the best you can do?

There doesn't seem to be ton of info out there for starting a vacation rental management company. 

I do 2 year minimum to keep those nasty costs downI can see month to month in C or D neighborhoods but my tenants want certainty about where they will be living for at least a year from lease inception.  

You do not want to elect corporate status (C or S Corp) without first understanding the tax implications in doing that.

Any long term bet on California real estate should be on prices going down unless something drastic changes.-- You said you don't have the time to manage the property yourself and will be working with a property manager.

***Only exception is if an owner has plan & funds to reposition Class D to Class C or higher.https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/776/topics/960183-what-they-dont-tell-you-about-cheap-rental-properties?

I’m glad it works for you there ...but try that in a c- or d class neighborhood and you’d be bankrupt in a couple months  

Once you have found them, you could be totally upfront in your marketing communication: no need to sugarcoat the current situation and tell investors this is a bet on the future so they shouldn't invest money you can't but they might want to allocate part of their speculative bucket.Hope this is helpful.

***Only exception is if an owner has plan & funds to reposition Class D to Class C or higher.https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/776/topics/960183-what-they-dont-tell-you-about-cheap-rental-properties?