In addition, trade policies have introduced new cost pressures, with a 10% tariff on Chinese imports raising prices on certain goods, though tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports remain suspended until March.

That cost me about $1,000 each time. 

Funny enough, I was going to suggest you move out of SF due to the high cost ;-) I'd suggest going down the SF condo route to start as financing for commercial units is a lot more difficult than residential properties.

You want a design that stays relevant, withstands high turnover, and doesn’t require constant costly updates.7.

Eventually you may be able to find a commercial lender that will loan purchase and construction costs up to 75-80% of ARV and you can eliminate a few of those steps.

I really trusted my agent and knew several people who had invested in Reno so I took the leap after trying and failing for years to buy my own home in really high cost cities where I lived (NYC, DC, SF Bay area). 

From there we identify properties that could have some potential and if you are interesting in diving deeper, 1) we do a thorough video walkthrough to give you a realistic look of the property, 2) we give a ballpark estimate of rehab costs (we do 40 a year with our GCs o we will get pretty close), 3) we talk through market rent with our property management team, ARV, and potential highest and best use.Ideally you find great investor agents who know their market really well and have a network of resources to provide you with enough confidence to take reasonable action. 

Living in the properties while fixing them up is a great way to build equity and keep costs low.

I don't think the two unit COA is that bizarre, you either have common areas to maintain via the COA or you have to do cost sharing on all expense by each owner sending in half.

I do not think it would cost too much to tone it down howeverI got a $10k quote (minus fees) from an interior decorator recently to redesign.