You must be hiring a PM for the property, correct?  

In total the house needs around $30,000 in updates and that price is me doing it myself not hiring out the work which if I did it would be closer to $50k or more but I plan to do it over the next two years when I can and profit as much as I can.

Hiring someone for sure, fingers crossed it will turn out well. 

I'm not familiar enough with CA tenant laws, but this might at least point you in the right direction.Option 1) Hire your own plumber and deduct the amount from your rent.

The problem is that it has an old septic tank, no central heat and air, and only has one bathroom. 

Personally, I always hire a professional inspector, so that I have an objective report I can show the buyer.  

That is legal in every state.there is one state if you do more than like 3 transactions in a year in addition to owning the asset you need a license or hire an agent.. and that is Wisconsin..

I am thinking about hiring someone to edit the banks excel spreadsheet and adding more spaces. 

OR Hire a really experienced Realtor that specializes in Investment Real Estate that has gained valuable contacts over the years that could provide you with access to their resources for free OR Work directly with a Real Estate Investing company with decades of experience that can provide you with access to their contacts for free2) Finding a deal: Here's a few ways to go about that - You or your agent can search the MLS and crunch numbers on property advertised on the retail market and hope to find a deal that all of the other real estate investors in Texas may have missed OR You can attend auctions and try to outbid all the other seasoned investors there only to realize if you win then that means you paid too much OR Have random wholesalers send you the one off deals they get under contract OR spend the time, money, and energy in trying to become a wholesaler yourself OR Work directly with a Real Estate Investing company that can send you the largest source of deeply discounted property sent directly to your inbox in the form of a daily spreadsheet.3) Estimating Rehab, Holding and other Costs: Read FLIP by Rick Villani and Clay Davis and The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs by J Scott.

If any of these cause water to escape fromplumbing, heating or air-conditioning system or household appliance, the Underwriters cover damagecaused by water.