., until you refinanced (you’ll need to include any refinance cost as well).  

Might cost a bit more money - but might save you a heck of a lot of time. 

They're both in LA County, but not far from Irvine, and they're the only decently priced coastal areas in SoCal (as far as I know).Now that I think about it, actually, also look into Costa Mesa in OC.Your $150K down payment is really going to cripple you, though.

Must have cost a fortune to send me and 200 other people a card on Christmas.

If you need to replace a deck, stain the outside, update the AC/water heater, etc. then that's a lot of work and will cost a lot.I personally don't like managing renovation projects remotely, especially without trusted vendors in place.That said, my last 2 cabins have involved some level of rehab/redecorating.  

Lenders will finance up to 90% of the purchase price and 100% of the rehab cost, as long as the total loan amount does not exceed 70% of the ARV. 

Not sure if you're overlooking it to make your story short, but i would recommend not using a general contractor, who generally eat up between 12-20% of your renovation cost as their fee to basically oversee and project manage it for you.

If you are out of state, most management companies would eventually charge you for repeated interactions at the property w/ contractors, etc...Most management companies would also be happy to purchase and install a lockbox on your property.Personally, I would suggest this and install a lock box immediately after closing for my clients if it were similar to your situation and I would remove it for them when no longer needed without cost as we would most likely transact again on another investment property.Hope this helps.

$4500 on a 2400 sf 5 bed/3bath in Costa Mesa, CA :-)

Here attorneys have had the opinion that you need to wait for the statute of Adverse Possession, which in PA is 21 years, CA 5 years, LA(the state) 30 years and Costa Rica 6 months.