To do landlording right, you need to know and possess the skills of the trade, not just act the part.

I also want to fix/rehab properties because I like working with my hands and building stuff, and eventually I want to teach my sons how to fix and remodel properties when they get old enough to start swinging a hammer. 

If it's not something they would want to do it could add more value to your relationship with them and be the thing to swing it your way. 

But California is known for its big swings up and down, to me this seems like 2005 all over again.

Red all day.....the Red Button is worth 50 million per press...no way i'd trade that for 1 million per press....You take the Red Button all day , every day and over a lifetime you come out way ahead of the guy that always picks green.  

That fee is normal if he is managing the project  getting the permit  and doing the dawning you may be able to look over the bid and get a few items lower  when you look at it .Make sure you have it in your contract you have a right to remove a trade before they start and to use your person if you need to after looking at the bid and signing anything. 

That is longer than you said, but they also have a trading exchange where you can buy out someone's portion at a discount/premium

If you can go as high as $750 with zero improvements, that might be a great trade-off. 

Most walk-ins have swinging or sliding doors which can be an extra expense to install and maintain if broken.

Would that be an acceptable "trade-off" to renters?