Since you are already driving a beater, eating pb&j's for lunch, brewing your own coffee and saving all you can anywhere you can...A tired landlord that has been self-managing since Jesus was a boy could be in a position to offer you a seller-financed transaction.  

But I also want some short term income as well and I don't want my Cap Ex expenses to eat up all the profit each year.  

You can have them pay for their own water and garbage. saves you 12% (also makes them more conscious of water usage thus being of a more green mindset)You have prop mang at 10 %...will you be doing it yourself for a few years?

Install green board.

Given the roof and maintenance issues, you may not want to rush into these without thorough due diligence just to save on taxes - capital items could potentially eat away any tax savings.  

I am working on my first flip. and I need a licensed electrician to come to my house and inspect electrical and see if there needs to be anything else done to bring it up to code and validate the electrical permit i bought. and get a green tag from the city. so that I can move forward with my drywall and flooring. i have learned so much more by taking action than i learned from shadowing the investors that bought my wholesale deals in the past. does anyone know an electrician or can u advise a way to go about getting one.

LOL.. indpendants are paid commission deal does not close they don't eat. 

I'm just worried about something major going wrong and eating up any income I get.  

Hey Shawn Greene !

And the reason that it is less expensive out of state is usually the exact opposite reason as it is hard to find a deal in LA, there is much less demand and higher supply of housing ... even if the cash flow on day one appears high, if the rent increases don't keep up with inflation then CapEx will eat your lunch in the long haul and you will be losing purchasing power each and every year.