Appealing to the tenants, they seem to LOVE the inside.

Then transition to out-of-state investing if it still appeals to you.

After I got the hang of it and spent more time on BP, I did provide input on how to make some of the listings more appealing to potential tenants. - I was able to spend my time doing other things.As others are saying, it's typically a commission of the first month's rent.

However, I didn't buy a 2 bedroom 1,500 square foot house in town that isn't much to look at but has an appealing price.

And getting locked in for 7-10 years does not appeal to me at all.  

Hey real estate agents, I’m a photographer, filmmaker, and digital marketer,  (I’m also very interested in investing in rental in the near future).

The investor will offer the following:Cash transaction;A quick sale closing with no inspection; andYou can leave behind any items you don’t want.The problems begin when the homeowner is elderly, alone, and doesn’t know the true market value of their property:They may have purchased their property over 20 years ago for $50,000, $100,000, or maybe $200,000.That same property now could have a market value of $300,000, $400,000 or even $500,000.The idea that they purchased the property 20 years ago for $120,000 and are now being offered $220,000 sounds appealing to these homeowners – their mortgage might be paid off and they will make $100,000 – sounds good right?

Perhaps you could negotiate a better deal to make the numbers look more appealing?  

@Caleb Webster This is definitely an approach that appeals to me. 

San Diego in general is an awesome location but if the numbers are not appealing, sometimes it's better not to force it to make it work and move on to something else.