There are opportunities here in CA but patience is critical.If you have challenges with the location you are talking about, and choose to throw in the towel, what is your exit strategy?

She suddenly remembered wires that she had forgotten for her TV (she had 2x 5" holes cut out of the feature wall to hide her cables, without asking) so it was easier to have her reputable painter guy pop in and cover up the holes and remove her last items without me having to see her again.My fault for not just getting it done myself I suppose but she is the sort of tenant that uses Court Action in seemingly every sentence and was seen taking pictures of everything when she left and even took a picture of her notice taped to my front door so I was trying to minimize any court action by at least keeping her in the loop of all the damage so I could get her replies by text to use if she decided to challenge my return deposit amount.She did admit to the burns in the carpet (stupidly putting hot coals from the fire in a plastic home depot bucket) and argued that it wasn't cat urine but vomit as her cat had cancer (but obviously didn't think to clean them or have them professionally cleaned).  

But that’s exactly how it would be if you would have done it all on your own.The challenge is buying the distressed property at a reasonable price.

Wholesaling is definitely possible in the Bay Area although from what I can tell it is more challenging than in other markets.

<shrug> I'll send the notice and face it on move-out day.Similar to you, I have cleaning instructions and a detailed move-out process as well. 

I have also came across a few online pre courses offered, which is a couple hundred dollars less than the face to face courses.

My challenge is that I have a relationship with a Realtor who knows the area and specializes in new home sales. 

If your are getting the same rents as the area, but YOU think some "sprucing up" will make your place show better, then DON'T remodel.The issue you are facing will be low DTI ratio and high credit utilization.

Most investors are primarily concerned with the person, then the deal.The challenge is that you are working under a challenging restraint.

In the notice notate the non-approved pet is in violation of the lease and must be removed from the property for safety reasons.Once the leak is repaired I would send a 7 day notice to remove the pet permanently or face eviction.