@Marcus Auerbach  You could just give them the bill upfront for what the repair is going to cost.

It's the "easy button" in that it requires very little work, but it will cost you more than it's worth and scaling will be slow, if at all.My recommendations:1.

Lower cost of entry, landlord friendly, low property taxes, no state income tax and only a few hours from NorCal.

Tampa has about 5% more appreciation per year but much worse cash flow and higher construction costs due to hurricane and higher insurance both amazing markets. 

The catch is, it would cost us ALL of our savings...

You may have to go creative rather than conventional, but depending on where it is and what you are doing, you may be looking at anywhere between 100K-300K in soft costs (permitting, design, architecture, utility hook ups, etc.) and a construction budget of probably 1 Mil to whatever, once again depending on what you are doing and where. 

This includes mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, maintenance costs, and property management fees.

The biggest problem is the cost per door is a lot more than OH, MO, etc.

Can try to repositionto Class B, but neighborhood may impede these efforts.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, but 15-20% should be used to also cover tenant nonpayment, eviction costs & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores of 560-620, many blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 2 years.

Your insurance or their renters insurance may also cover costs of lodging during repairs.