Taxes are super low because it's AL.

Hometrust has never offered such a deal (their rehab estimates are laughably low) I would like to hear what other investors are finding that even comes close to the 70% rule and how you are finding them. 

Think of it from the PM's perspective: if you were them, would you deal with the significant headaches of a C or D area (non-paying tenants, trashed properties, crime, police calls, etc.) for a 10% cut of a single property (probably just a few hundred bucks a month) ...I wouldn't.To make matters worse, the property isn't appreciating (because it's in a low appreciation market, or even a depreciating market), and the tenant pool is primarily made up of people with bad credit, low/no income, and a history of property damage at the previous places they've rented.

My ultimate goal is to have $10,000/month cashflow in about 10 years time with "low-effort" REI to afford a mortgage in CA :)

If not, sadly, the allure of low rates and no points is taken off the borrower's table, but so are the licensed LO's that have little to no experience in DSCR.

Low property taxes, and landlord-friendly.

First get all the utilities into you tenants names if at all possible.I'd put in low flow shower heads first.They make a restrictor that goes inline with any shower head and is pretty difficult to tell its there.Put a brick in the water tank.

Accordingly, you should gather data to support offers other than list price and when you make the offer, if it's low, politely explain your reasoning.

I love the idea of renting out vans to other people so they can experience the highs and the lows, too.

Trees, ditches, low spots or valleys for ponds, etc.