The same street with the difference of a hundred house numbers can look drastically different.I hope this helps, rather than be discouraging.

I'm presently a facilities engineer by trade, who does some construction and maintenance for landlords on the side, hoping to get back into the private real estate game.

I think there are a few salient points to the newer reader who is an out of state investor. 

Hopefully any BP members in the LA situation can benefit from the thought process.  

You will always have to be an asset manager of your property manager as your property manager is not a mind reader for your investment strategy decisions. 

If I had just bought this property and could force some appreciation, I could refinance and hopefully extract that equity within a year, for example--but since this house is paid off, refinancing would introduce a new mortgage payment.What are the options here?

You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.4.

Readers should seek professional advice.

I'm hoping to learn from others on the forums, perhaps find some mentors, meet some people in person and watch them do the things I've only read about thus far, and grow my portfolio. 

They have been the best investments I've ever made, but hoping to have greater cash flow influence with a daily business model.Is there demand for these types of rentals in the investment community?