My wife and I both work but she will be quitting and becoming a stay at home mom when we move.

Yes, they can cost you 10% a year but that would be cheaper than letting a tenant stay there for rent way below market.

Now the hard part, figuring out if i want to use that to snipe a great deal on our first property, attempt multiple properties at once, or save more and attempt to stay local in SoCal.

As in, a 10,000 person town I'd stay away from - you want a reasonably diversified economy...Here's the main concern I have with your startup plan - Inevitably investing out of your area will put someone locally in a stronger position with regards to negotiating. 

I am doing my research into this and wanting to know what you recommend as a great tool to stay on top of the rents, organizations, formulas etc.Ray

While she's anxious to get rid of the property, she prefers to stay and rent the side she currently lives in until the end of the school year next Spring.  

No modification is needed to the operating agreement and as long as you are calling for capital pro-rata from the investors their ownership percentages stay the same relative to one another.Having explained all that, if it were me I wouldn't do it. 

@Lana Lee, I tend to stay away from 1 bed units as well, unless it's too good to turn down.

Way to stay positive!

I don't spend much time 'driving for dollars', as I have found that I don't stay focused.