It would be impossible to staff appropriately without holding owners accountable for their contract terms.

Many CA investors find the Reno Tahoe, NV market appealing  because of the various strategies that can be implemented like buy and hold STR or MTR and the close proximity to CA. 

I document with pictures, give the tenant instructions on how to pay me, and hold the property for XX days (check state law).

Small variances in opinions of value can make a big difference in holding times for investors and/or the final profit numbers for a project.

Plus I like to have tangible assets that hold value over the long run in good times and bad.

It does not have a lot to do with birth rate, it is the number of house holds. 

Work the W2, run a STR co-hosting business on the side, pile up money, buy a house hack, rinse and repeat. 

My thinking was that it could possibly be more attractive for a tenant looking to go week to week, or month to month, without needing to put as much down for 1st, last, and security, and at the same time I wouldn't hold the risk of a bad tenant being stuck living there with a 1 year lease.

I've heard the LA market can be very tough from a rules and regs perspective, some great resources here for "long distance real estate investing" that may be helpful if you are looking to get started in a lower cost more stable market for long-term holds

Is this a buy and hold and wait for appreciation or am I getting this at a significant discount with good amount of equity from day one?