Which one of the paid lead generation sites are you finding most effective for getting lead lists and which mail houses are the most cost effective? 

Or are holes after move-out just part of the cost of doing business?

- Refers to loans and mortgages that cover the costs of purchasing and launching your short-term rental property and business. 

Hey Joey,Cost Segregation and REPS: Yes, you can perform a cost segregation study once your wife qualifies for Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) and use accelerated depreciation to offset your W2 income in subsequent years of renting the property.Purchasing Another Property: It can be beneficial to purchase another rental property within the first 5 years to continue maximizing depreciation deductions.

I understand that the law in CA limiting landlords to a max of one month's deposit went into effect on July 1.

Communication has been a major issue, and I'm finding it difficult to get timely updates or clear answers from them.Given these challenges, I am losing faith in their ability to manage the property effectively and am seriously considering switching to a new property manager.Has anyone experienced similar issues?

Next, figure out how much the entire rehab will cost and contrast it with the possible rental income.

As long as this 4plex would be in a high-cost area then conventional would still be a possibility for you. 

And as the buyer (my colleague) is now getting closer to closing it's starting to look like it might be worth just cleaning the place out and doing a very low cost rehab (paint, pressure wash and handyman repairs) for a quick sale.

In this case I would say that for maintenance, you would be best off paying per trip/hourly for the cost of any repairs at whatever is an average median rate for a repair man in your area.