I like to aim for the opposite.

Obviously on larger items like flooring it can be a little longer than 10 months closer to 15, but we still aim for 10. 

I aim for anything that's around the 11% or 12%+ expected ROI with adequate CapEx and Maintenance reserves.

In LA County, if you made any addition to the square footage or additional unit, when you have the certificate of occupancy they will reassess it and you can expect a supplemental tax bill. 

She doesn't want anyone that close but the garage is huge behind her house I thought about looking into adding a story on and making a 1b 1b rental to help supplement her income so she is independently able to live there.

I would love to transition into real estate full-time, while also supplementing my income by doing freelance writing gigs online.

I have held the replacement property for a total of 5 years aiming for the long term capital gain exclusion of $250k/$500k. 

From a cost perspective, you should aim around $15 per exterior wall square feet plus minus a couple bucks depending on the size of your actual project.Painting it would be cheaper at no more than $1 per exterior wall square feet, but I would advise you to look at what other MFR's are selling for and with what exterior finish to make your decision.Good luck.

Doug Levinson takes a trip into the United States Federal Reserve, examining how the people who work there aim to balance the value of the dollar to prevent inflation or deflation.View the full lesson here: What gives a dollar bill its value?

It looks like you have rehab/construction experience so my initial recommendation would be to aim for deferred maintenance properties with high upside potential after some renovation (assuming you have budget for renovations).