I also have monthly fees for a CRM, our e-key system, and fees to be a part of my brokerage.

My fear: that someone smokes cigarettes in the house, that inspector might also smoke so cannot smell it, and my place is ruined.   

I live in MA and I am in the process of selling a rental property in CA and trying to fill out form 593-E to avoid paying the mandatory franchise tax since we did not make a profit on the sale. 

By "ease" is meant the idea that it's got a whole different set of mechanics compared to analyzing P/E ratios in stocks, and some folks just don't know much about it,  but more fundementally, the physical repairs and the interpersonal rigors of being a landlord.

You made several mis-steps here that put you in this situation.An e-mail is not a contract.

Hello,I am currently in the process of obtaining my first investment property (quadplex) in Southern California and have been working on trying to get the right rental lease agreements to give to the inherited tenants...

I feel very good about this and I want to make an offer, but I've never done that before, so I have some questions.1) Do I literally just e-mail the listing agent and say "I want to make an offer"?

Marketing 101 is focus as much as possible on a target niche & pain point.2nd of all, have you read The E-Myth?

Example of yes: old kitchen, everything is obsolete, walls are yellow with stains from cigarette smoke.

For $39.80 you can subscribe to https://www.foreclosure.com/ I did for a while and they have an alert system that will send notifications to your e-mail and a free period so you can try them out before committing or making the first payment.