It's a rental and I'm working on getting the right systems and team members in place.

Then do your best to understand which of those systems may need replacing in a given year and assemble a long term cap ex budget accordingly.  

I have experience buying at auctions in NJ, but the system here in CA is fairly different.

Lisa Bryant I wish I could vote for your post more than once

To me they're a waste of money because those systems work for them and their personalities...not necessarily yours.

HOWEVER when you look back about a year later, you'll realize that you've already learned a TON about buildings, systems, building codes, markets, finance, rental laws and above all, the importance of relationships.  

I ran for city council last year as a 25 year old and got almost 40% of the vote.

It also sounds as though you did not do an LLC and choose to be treated as a Sub S corp, so the income will also come to you as Earned Income, and will also be subject to Self Employment Tax (although you might have already paid the maximum).I applaud your decision to set up some kind of system before you do anything like this again.  

You need to be able to identify your market, don't blindly select some niche and bang your head trying to hammer some system  out, be flexible so you can profit in any environment. 

I'm closing on a vacation rental property approx 12 hours from my home and I'm interested in installing both a thermostat and keyless entry lock system which I can control remotely.