If you perform the repair personally, you have to be reasonable in charging fair market rate. eg. if it takes 1 hr of your labor for some handyman's work, $20-30/hr is reasonable, even you're probably paid much more in your own line of work.My suggestion is to first fire the PM who obviously wanted to skim some profit by inflating the repair cost while exposing you to lawsuits (remember you're in CA - a blue state and San Jose - a city with rent control).

I personally enjoy the webinars and podcasts.

Residential loans do care about personal income but commercial loans will rely VERY heavily on the property itself. 

I currently have 3 rentals in the metro Phoenix area, 2 in Orlando, 2 in Tampa and my personal residence in Austin.

I would be happy giving the person 2 years notice!

Beyond that, it'd be like hiring a general contractor for a remodel but hiring all the subs yourself - it defeats a huge purpose of hiring that person.

Hoping to meet people both online and in person.

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If you uncover that answer, it may shed some light on the investment (maybe it's good info and it satisfies my skeptical approach)I have found the biggest three seller motivations (with landlords) are:1) Tenants are subpar and current owner is tired of managing (in this, you're inheriting headaches, eviction, and much higher repair costs than you expect). 2)  An estate took over and just wants to get it gone (in which case there is probably a back balance owed that needs to be flushed out along with a general lack of property knowledge). 3)  My personal favorite: the Owner bought via tax sale deed (and therefore does not want to be a landlord, just wants his investment + reasonable return).If everything checks out, it sounds like a great deal bud.  

Send personalized, hand written thank you notes after your open house to everyone that attended.