Additionally, they cut a small hole in the fence so SDG&E (the utility company here) can read the meter from the empty lot.

The contractors that were utilized by the home warranty companies were (in general) not high-quality. 

If your answer is that it may not actually sell for $15O PSF due to functional utility issues then don't expect it to appraise for that. 

Personally, I like to provide a high quality product in a nice neighborhood and subsequently, I intentionally have a strong rental criteria 700+ credit etc so I can weed out the tenants I do not see being a good fit.In regards to best practices, I usually do everything via facebook messenger, text and email but I will probably utilize a google web form moving forward.

#2 What I see is about 30% fee, that's the tough part...if you hit $3000/month and loose 30% of that, you're back down to LTR rate...plus you probably have extra expenses, like furnishings, utilities, consumables, lawn care, hot tub.   

For instance, many markets have A/B class neighboorhoods in the price range of 300-400k, therefore, allowing you to utilize more leverage of OPM.

Are there any refi options that would utilize the VA loan?

When I bought the house I made the rookie mistake of taking on her utilities bill without knowing it.

I bought a duplex on a double lot and want to utilize the space in the other lot, but have no money.

I also noticed you didn't factor in any utilities like water (normally owner paid), gas or electric.