The maintenance/cap ex, not being a function of the rent but a function of the unit and tenant, will consume a significant portion of rent.  

As the consumer, we should be well prepared with your personal info(credit scores, dti, taxes, insurance, etc) to get a baseline estimate.

In this case the consumer over estimates the risk of an hourly model costing more than a traditional commission model.

So while I can't claim to speak for every financial institution out there, it's a very broad survey, finding an option not contained there might involve making quite a few phone calls.When I see 30 year fixed, 30 year amortization, 30 year maturity (basically, identical terms to a consumer-friendly kid-gloves home loan), which does in fact pop up if I specifically search for it, it's almost always at a rather high interest rate, and the borrower doesn't opt for it.

And neither will Redfin, each will charge what they want as long as a consumer is willing to pay it.

On another note, you have some fairly restrictive laws regarding private lending, consumer protection (seller financing to an owner occupant) and loan servicing in CA state so make sure you are allowed to do this on your own and understand the licensure requirements to lend, broker loans, and service them as well.

Consumers can already hire agents at discounted rates.

I'd start small and think about the least time-consuming and the lowest-risk strategies considering your busy work schedule/ lack of bandwidth to take on an additional job which is basically what real estate investing needs to be in order to be successful. 

Do you provide consumables (toilet paper, coffee, paper towel, etc.) for your clients or do you set aside money for to replenish?

I have a management firm that has filed the necessary paperwork and received a judgment, but it is apparently a time consuming process to then get a writ of restitution and then to schedule the sheriff to evict.