Thanks for the wisdom and confidence boost so far everyone, greatly appreciate it

Curb appeal. 

Do something to the front of the house to make it pop & give curb appeal.

Contactless (online) payments is a big deal given the current state of things during C19, especially with the right platform that allows your tenants more options (ie. debit/credit card option, ACH payments, or even expedited payment processing, along with rent/payment due date reminders, and the ability to report positive payments to TransUnion in order to give your tenants' credit scores a boost; this acts as an added incentive for them in the long run as well).

This will give me an SEO boost right around the time people are booking for the holidays. 

I've found these developments particularly good in boosting the revenue driven from short term/vacation rentals, even when standard/long-term rents stay flat.

Students are notorious for not taking the trash cans in on trash day as well as for allowing the curb appeal to wane.  

@Pennie Heath Great job with the curb appeal.

wow thanks for the info guys it definitely boosted my confidence!

This stems off a question I asked last night and got some great answers.I'm wondering what the (LA County) costs and process might look like for all of the permitting, creating a new street address, new water, new waste, new power lines, and having a driveway carved into the curb.