The previous owner was an older lady and the house needed significant upgrading.

roof, electrical, plumbing, hvac, etc. i hope your inspector crawled under the house. if he didn't, i would hire somebody else who will. as far as your financing is concerned. getting a 5% conventional should've been the way to go (with fha you will still have to prepay your mip that could be significant and have the pmi that you can't get out of unless you refi). if it's still possible, i would look into a homestyle loan from fannie mae (it's like a better 203k) that will finance your upgrades: https://www.fanniemae.com/Home... having a knowledgeable lender is key, as some don't know about these products.

Maybe more if the structure needs to be upgraded.

My wife and I were starting a family and were living in a 2 bedroom town house and needed to upgrade to a single family home.

Have a few opportunities with a few condos in Marina Del Rey, and am would like to connect with some reliable local talent to collaborate for some projects.Having the ability to do some custom vanity work is a plus.Any have any data showing the best condo upgrades for the highest return?

Someone has done recent upgrades to kitchens and baths.

Also curious with the new fence, did they upgrade to a nicer one or is it the same type you had. 

When rehabbing the place what are the most sought after upgrades for example kitchen/ bathroom?

Here's what i have to work with:My current CA home value = $600,000I only owe $222,000 on the houseI refi'd 6 months ago to get money to upgrade the house...central heating and air/ new kitchen/ landscaping/ New electrical panel and 200 Amp service. 

Is this an entire gut job type rehab or are you doing cosmetic type upgrades?