If you feel good about the risks and your mitigation strategy , you should have enough confidence in moving forward.Remember that even after your decision, you should reassess the risks so that you can mitigate them going forward.

Then make decision to calculate gross rent to cover peak usage rates that way tenant has utilities built into rent and you save expense of all the HVAC  work.

and secondly would it be ideal time now to make that decision, since the lower unit walls are exposed?

Wanna make a good decision and not make a bad mistake and apartments are very hard to find around here.

Then I read Rich dad poor dad and my eyes opened.

Before I finalize that decision, I want to talk with other investors in LA to make sure this is the right choice for me.

Tough decision but as a rental this property will bleed money.

I have since watched a couple podcast episodes, and started reading Rich Dad Poor Dad and the Ultimate Beginners Guide.

While I got my teeth kicked in a few times in the early going, that decision forced me to be very keen on how to accurately screen for good and bad tenants. 

-why did you go that route with the market you're in (what market factors impacted your decision)?