It is easy to spend thousands of dollars in marketing and have nothing to show for it.

We also had the option of another type of policy that was even less expensive that would have required us to spend at least 1 night in the house and rent it at least 30 nights each year.

Spend the time, make the effort, and (hopefully) reap the rewards.

I also believe many of the people will not have 2nd homes   For example Altadena has slightly high, for coastal CA, RE prices but household income is near the median for CA.  

I would not take legal action on a $2k investment on my own if it was my investment as you will be spending a lot more than that to chase what could be a ghost.

I havnt done much analysis but need to spend more time doing it. 

I already know that I can BRRRR a property (or something similar) and it'll yield a better return but I'm not interested in spending the time.

Read "Long-Distance Real Estate Investing" by David Greene, then spend some time reading through the forums.

Sometimes people get paid and if they can pay their rent immediately they will but if they can't they may be tempted to spend it elsewhere. 

Well-maintained homes: Homeowners tend to spend more time and money maintaining their homes, which contributes to the overall quality of the neighborhood.