I would look at submarkets outside of downtown as well, given the lack of people working in offices downtown for the forseeable future, restaurants and bars essentially closed, the appeal of downtown is not there right now.

You could get lucky with their advice, but you're essentially left to your own devices for making it work.

The biggest issue, IMO, is safety.

I'm now just paying about $1k for my taxes and insurance (including super expensive earthquake and umbrella liability policy) which are essentially my living expenses.

@Danual Berkley It could have been rented as-is but we put in a fresh coat of paint and made some repairs to the porch railings due to safety concerns. 

All week I continued to hear about VA’s (virtual assistants) and how important it is to hire them so that I can transition from doing the “admin work” into the “boss” role, essentially taking the dream and making it a real business for myself.

Start with your local banks and CUs.Each bank essentially chooses it's own source of the "prime rate" (WSJ, LIBOR, etc.), that's the "index."

There's a few more requirements than stick-built, but essentially the same. 

At the moment you essentially are asking how many times you need to stop for gas on a road trip when you don't even know the mileage of the car. 

If she doesn't agree, then you essentially have a disagreement over the holding fee (security deposit)What's her "real" reason for not wanting to move in?