I lived in Seattle for 14 years and started with two rentals there however for those living in a primary market and being a high paid professional turnkey rentals are the way to go to get started in Birmingham, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Memphis, Little Rock, Jacksonville, Ohio, or other secondary or tertiary markets. 

Do we just need to find a property at a rock bottom price to make these numbers work out?

If it works with that number, it should really rock at 75-80%.Having $1,000,000 of cash to work with just means you have much more flexibility in financing than most.

The longer a tenant stays, the more likely that they will get more of their security deposit back because things naturally age and need to be updated over time and we can't charge tenants for "normal wear and tear."

Naturally, I suspect the crawl space was intentionally concealed, but the agent says she doesn't believe the seller did that intentionally, and that the seller isn't aware of issues within the crawlspace.

I am unaware of either website, but I would assume that there will naturally be an up-charge for the services they provide.

@Tina Husted this is the nature of the hot market in so cal.

Naturally they want me to find them properties, they'll rehab them and then I'll be the listing agent to get it sold.

If you look at solds you get a feel for what the best possible deals look like, where rock bottom is.

If you are looking for an area that has a strong tech presence, then Boulder or maybe Castle Rock will be your jam.