The basics are: From the comfort of your home you cold call, build rapport, and lock deals over the phone. 

You will also find LVP is more comfortable to walk and stand on, which is important in a kitchen.

Some people’s comfort zone is in having a rental that is renovated and in an area that may have high demand and consistently better looking neighborhoods.I have rentals in Taylorsville and Murray and enjoy those areas.

I'm very familiar and comfortable with CA markets but they are so high I know I'm missing out.

I don't expect we can bring someone in at a premium rent with the exterior looking like it does need the maintenance and I don't expect they'd be comfortable paying it based on a promise of a future upgrade.My plan B was to inform them of the upgrades up front and offer two options.  

You have to use both if you are going to maximize occupancy.

I understand this is personal comfort/risk appetite levels, but I'd like to hear how other smaller investors getting into the REI landlord arena think about this aspect. 

I could comfortably set up 3 park models with my own money and having it ready. 

Assuming you are looking to live in and rent (SF house hack) I would start by finding the areas you would like to/be comfortable living in then look into the pricing to buy and rough rents in those specific areas.

My goal is to continue to acquire rentals but ensure that they are cash flowing comfortably...