I hope you "pay" or at least buy a meal gift card for the contractor...they will remember that you valued their time and will be more likely to help you with a walkthrough again on the next project.Don't know how much DD money you put down (and it's gone now), but it's probably a small price to pay to avoid buying a money pit.Best to you!

So, how do you make the decision on how far to go to earn highest rent but without going crazy overboard. 

Just know that, as you progress with your decisions. 

A couple months ago I made the decision that I was going to finish out the year and quit and pursue real estate fulltime.

Bad move, I see no logic behind your decision to do this.

People make big money decisions based on what the rules are TODAY, and changing that seems very unfair. 

@Amy SilvaOne thing you likely want to make sure doesn't happen is that the property taxes don't get readjusted.Property taxes in CA stay relatively the same under one owner until the title is changed.This may be just an important decision as income taxes depending on what the property taxes are right now and how much they would be under an adjustment.

Good luck on your decision! 

Some decisions in business are hard but necessary.

Regarding the decision to sell vs. rent, as an alternative to selling, did you consider doing a cash-out refinance in order to pull out the equity in excess of what you had into it?