After rehab, I'll determine if I recommend

What you hear their side then you can determine your next steps. 

Be sure to determine if you are eligible for special depreciation or Sec. 179 expense on any CAPEX assets in the current year. 

Plug that into the numbers that you run to determine the cash on cash return.From a housing cost reduction perspective, compare the rental income to the cost of the mortgage, taxes, and other expenses to see the net cost of living there. 

The amenities your competition offers will determine how booked they are, and also will help guide you to figure out what you need to offer to separate yourself. 

It will help you determine if investing out of state is right for you and your personal goals/risk tolerance, etc. 

I had the following question to determine if I am still within the window to take advantage of deferring my taxes or not.

These will determine what fits.

If I hire someone to do work on my rental property in California, and that person (either licensed or unlicensed) does not have their own worker's compensation insurance on themselves, must I provide it if they are an Independent Contractor - and how exactly does one determine if such a person is an employee or independent contractor? 

Do you mind sharing if you opened the account with your own SSN or EIN (looks like I can get an EIN without an LLC from IRS) ?