This of course depends on your starting bank roll - but if its like mine (under 100k) - Im trying to put as little as possible into it on top of initial equity and fees.this will likely chew a big hole in your ROI  (now if you are looking to improve value with a cash out refi or a great prospect comes along that needs combo new plumbing, roof, windows, foundation repair, etc - well just make sure you know what youre getting into and/or have a good contractor and finger on the pulse of the market when estimating the ARV YOURSELF - couple missed items and you risk having a bad first investment and not doing it again).    7) dont be scared be ambitious ( i should heed my own advice sometimes) 8) define numbers goals within your target areas.  

Phase #1 - Recovery  - characterized by high vacancy rates and no new construction- rent, during this phase, is flat or declining- owners offer rent concessions to avoid their property occupancy rate from  decliningPhase #2 - Expansions- characterized by declining vacancy and the start of new construction- occupancy improves, concessions are not being offered, and rental rates being to growPhase #3 - Hyper Supply - characterized by new construction and vacancy rates beginning to rise - rental rates begin to grow at a slow rate- rent concession are being offerred due to the new construction in the area [in the hope of retaining current renters]Phase #4 - Recession - characterized by the completion of construction and a decline in occupancy rates - concessions are abundant to avoid high move-out rates Here are some foundational truths about optimizing your investments:#1 sow seeds of success in the down times - "The season of failure is the best time for sowing seeds of success."

I would need to figure out the building and land, mortgages, contributions, improvements and such.

Setting that aside, I don't believe its realistic to buy a home and turn around and flip it without making any improvements.

To what extent does landscaping typically add value to a property for the purposes of appraisal and re-financing, compared to other improvements? 

In my case, I wasn’t sure my land qualified because it was essentially my back yard, but because it was always a separate lot from my house, I was able to still do it because raw land without improvements on it is always considered investment property.

What you are not including is vacancy, capital improvements, turnover costs etc.

One of the things you can start doing is reviewing your credit score and work on improving it if needed.

Let someone else buy the fringe areas and improve them first.To be direct, I can't imagine an appraiser using 5-year-old comps.

But I also sometimes think owning only 1 property in LA would be less stressful and a more reasonable mortgage payment would improve my quality of life.