They need to clean/ paint the exterior, move some the fencing to create 3 more car slots, and clean up with the front yard.

You could also buy the property outright in cash and immediately get a HELOC (typically will require lower dollar thresholds than a new mortgage note) as a way to not deplete your cash reserves.

If they wanted to stiff me for tens of thousands of dollars they could.Most people are going to pay but if you have a 100 unit apartment and 10% decide not to pay you are in big trouble or have to deplete life savings just to stay afloat.If people start thinking that it is their "right" to choose to not pay rent there may be some very disturbing trends.

I purchased mine, did a quick clean up and update within reason. 

A 500 dollar fine for me for the first 72 hours to clean up the mess and a warning letter to the renters.

I hear a lot of people discuss using FHA for BRRRR’s but I never feel like much is discussed about how to refinance to a conventional loan, the costs associated with that (cash flow depletion, closings), etc.

You won’t have to worry about excessive money left for repairs or clean up costs during a turnover !

That would be a golden tenant and even if they are way below market rent, do the numbers - you'll see that evicting them just to get the rent to market rates immediately could result in a long enough vacancy while you clean up the units, with the resultant lack of cash flow, that you were better off raising the rent a hundred or so a year (example) for 3 years (example) on the existing tenant, and then who knows what kind of tenant their replacement will be.

Michael, and Daniel, my question is, even if it is possible to house hack, invest in California in the way Vincent is mentioning, would the property taxes deplete any cash flow made?

If you've got steam, things can get complicated, however you might be able to clean up your living area by removing the radiators and adding forced air.High velocity is a nice option if you have a finished basement or finished attic / 3rd floor.Finally, the mini-splits can be great to supplement heating and add cooling.