I have been there in my personal residence and it added a little more pain to the process.

You (and your family) have to be comfortable with the added risk of leveraging your primary residence, but I think it is a good route to go.

Way too many restrictions on owning / leasing and lots of added fees. 

With the mortgage insurance added to the debt service, I do wonder how the math works. 

One step at a time.There are ways to speed the process, like adding value as someone mentioned, buying in only rising/appreciating markets, buy and sell down, bring capital in the door and move to other opportunities/appreciating markets. 

Is it out of your job, vacation fund, retirement money added to a 401k, taking care of aging parents....You determine what the goal is and the answer will become crystal clear. 

. — It’s looking like I will end up with about $15k out of pocket for a total of $30k rehab.This includes new appliances, adding central HVAC, flooring, new cabinets/counters, Interior and exterior paInt, foundatIon levelIng, etc.

Or do you use your own talents and pick up the extra fees? 

I'm hoping that some "big pocketed" Angelenos on this forum might know the answer ;)As an aside, while I'm of course grandfathered in the sense of not having to tear down my house, I'm relatively sure that you can not add any square footage or do major remodeling without adding a second spot, i.e. complying with current parking regulations.

It's a lot of work and extra headache.