Many times they will do a free inspection, which will allow you to get a more accurate number on costs. 

I'd recommend researching top multifamily owner/operators who buy 200+ units and allow you to invest passively. 

The impacted also ripped off the bumper of their car.The issue is, they don't have a deposit that I can deduct from (I inherited the tenant from the previous property owner).

Lesson: make sure all units are legal and everything is up to current safety codeThis arbitrator's ruling seems crazy considering CA law (SB13) allows 5 years to legalize any safe bootleg units from the initial passage of the law. 

Something important to note is that the condos in PCB are considered non-warrantable since they allow short term rentals.

Simple, you connect with those that do it and allow them to handle.

It's a great way to increase your net worth and these loans can also be used to pull cash out of a property as it appreciates allowing you to reinvest money into new deals.

I'm hoping to pull out $800k-$1m to immediately reinvest and allow for this to even function as a cross-collateralization situation, but even though the risk seems much lower than in other types of lending, I'm not seeing a clear path forward. 

land cost and zoning overlays for density allowances and utilities are the top 3 

HELOC or line of credit allows you to tap into your funds anytime you want and you can pay it back the used balance + interest.