In the early stages try to get a few different revenue streams so the eventual sale doesn't end up stalling you. 

I feel terrible for his family, I cannot even imagine the psychological damage and eventual financial damage, and possibly even criminal damage so many of them will face as a result of his wrong doings.  

Neither is “better” — they just serve different goals.3) Keeping vs converting the current home:Turning your current home into a rental can work well if the numbers still make sense after financing costs and management — otherwise it can quietly become a drag on flexibility.Since you have Michigan ties, it’s worth at least underwriting a few MI scenarios side-by-side with a CA option to see how they compare in terms of cash flow, leverage, and complexity.

Evenually if all goes well I would like to continue growing my portfolio and eventually expanding to different areas if all goes well. 

They eventually sold the house to another buyer.

Don't forget to convert the utilities to yourself if they are separate.A landlord best practice is to always change the locks when there is a turnover regardless of the tenant returning the keys to you.

One has zero cash flow and I expect it to be an eventual (large) capital loss due, in my opinion, to mismanagement and poor due diligence.

We typically never see more than three months requestedThis is what we typically hold as for DSCR we originate and eventually will sell it off to an institution.

We are really wanting to flip at least 6-10 homes a year and eventually expand, hiring crews and doing dozens a year.

I track this with wholesalers I know - the ones hitting 5+ follow-ups over 2 weeks convert 3x more leads than the "call once and move on" crowd.