For finish items like faucets, lights, etc. you should get an itemized budget list.

I feel acceptable risk would be changing a light fixture of replacing a device to update a look. anything else you should hire a qualified person do the work for you. 

Hi, I used to work at Seattle Lighting.

All light rehabs are either overbid by cash investors (I mean, the ones that don't use hard money) or even bought by retail buyers who don't look for a profit.  

He did some light fix up while he lived there and turned a nice profit in less than a year (READ that book). 

Going in and painting full interior and exterior of homes,  changing out fans,  lights, faucets and etc.

I'm going to respond about a looming bust and unsustainable growth in San Francisco.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-06-22/ny...SF to New York is a common comparison, and while it isn't exact, it sheds a lot of light on what is possible in the future.  

Your concern for buying at the top is valid and shouldn't be taken lightly.

Today is just another day I am learning more and more about real estate investing, and I hope soon I will be able to share some light through out the forums.

It's a rather mysterious area of investing for a lot of real estate investors, and I wanted to shed some light into a deal our company, Seasoned Funding, LLC completed a while back.