She randomly threw a number for cost of building the kitchen, about 200K she said which is way too high so we definitely need to really think about this giving out TI like you said. 

Too much car noise could generate some negative feedback on your rental listing.

I am always in and out at sea so for me I think having a few rental properties to generate cashflow is the best way for us to get our feet underneath us, at least until I retire and am able to put more time into this.

Short stay rentals can generate crazy high gross revenue.

My advice would be to take your family vacation location out of the equation and buy a place that will generate good income.Your family trips can be to a variety of places that way.

We sold the property shortly thereafter for $70,000, saving it for future generations to enjoy.

While I'm most interested in starting off with renting single family homes, I've heard its difficult to generate positive cash flow from rentals in this market (not sure if this is because of the high entry cost to LA real estate?).

If you own say a 5 unit multi.ProsThat is one closing, one location, one roof (maybe 2), one PM (because one location), one lawn to care  Value of property is based on income you can generate from it.  

Your entry price would need to be in the mid to high $400's to generate a feasible profit depending on the resale value range.Look around Santa Ana, East LA, or Long Beach.

Maybe look at FHA 203k...google it..At the end of the day if the numbers make sense in your area then it's pretty cut and dry...Also if your circumstances allow you may want to actually reside in the in-law and rent out the rooms individually in the house which will almost certainly generate more revenue.