This post has nothing to do with cost segs.

It’s awesome that you want to use your downtime to learn more about the industry and make some extra income as a VA.

One note on this @Jenny Yu. 

You subject yourself to a lot of risk on DIY.   

Since house flipping has become so popular over the past few years, it's never been more critical to give your projects that extra *POP* that homebuyers will notice as they're swiping through Zillow. 

Quote from @Brendan Jones: I am very new to learning about real estate and am looking for advice on my first home and how I can best use it to help offset my mortgage and generate cash flow.

This would apply to your unit.Your biggest concern with setting the rent should be the near future. 1) Your insurance is guaranteed to go up, probably dramatically.  2) You may get an insurance assessment bill to cover the CA Fair Plan losses.

My coach suggested (and I implemented) a "must do tracker"....it's a color coded spreadsheet (I like to print multiple copies and keep them on a clipboard to stay in my sight/top of mind). 

I really appreciate you sharing this.

Offer to do his inspections for free in exchange for some education on how to find, analyze, and fund deals.