@Hugh Horner Agreed, it’s nuts!

This may not be as nuts and bolts as your question desired but I'd say that you can absolutely do what you're doing if...1.

It's amazing what an art pulling and fishing wire to outlets can be.

Smells like either a development deal that you could build a ton of nuts on, or the seller is full of crap.

I will likely need to avail property management for at least first few years since i dont know the nuts and bolts and with me and my wife working and a two year old at home, time seems to evaporate anyways. 

Those depending on RE agents are fishing in a pond with very few fish.

We'll asked her if she was nuts?

@Storm Silva   Well if they ever 'awaken' (especially the 80% of 'agents' who QUIT within two years, when they can't "fish, in the big pond" with the "sales sharks," because they "don't have the work ethic," or simply aren't that outgoing, and/ or 'salesy...')

No hibachis within 10 feet, 1 car only, guests park on street, no shoes on hardwoods, no grease down drains, no noise after ---, no guests more than x days, no pet sitting, no non operating cars, water the lawn, responsible for all unsubstantiated repair calls, no solvents, no cleaning your motorcycle in the living room, no candles, no drying your fish on the roof, no couches on the front lawn, no blocking furnace vents you dumb axx, no materials with x feet of furnace, no alterations of any kind, etc etc

SoCal can be a tough nut to crack for us newbies.A couple years ago I mailed out lots of letters to homeowners in LA County with no luck.Then I tried rural Kern County and got a deal from a distressed homeowner in California City.The margins were not as large as they would've been in LA or OC, but I was able to rent it out for 2 years before fixing it up and selling it for a decent gain.Have you considered an owner-occupied small multifamily for your first deal?