If you start flipping 3+ properties a year consider an s-corp. 

If you are planning to live there, you could consider an FHA loan so your down payment is less.

In your shoes, coming right out of school I suspect you dont have a down payment, so consider an FHA loan (3.5% down) on a multi family (up to 4 units).

You can consider an FHA loan if you're planning on living in the property you buy for at least 12 months.  

Insurance would cover it, I would pay the deductible, and no assets would be lost.If you are in an area like San Diego where people are more likely to sue, a judge is more likely to find you guilty, and the payout is likely to be higher, then you may consider an umbrella insurance policy.

One other thing to consider is with that high of a down your ROI and COC will not be what most consider an "investment."

If you do a LLC you may want to consider an out of state LLC for the better protections that another state may offer (Nevada or Wyoming.)  

You might consider an LLC or an S Corp to simplify things, it wont let you split every property differently if you hold them all in one entity but it will make distributions much easier than if you were trying to keep track of each property individually.

Consider an SFH or MFH and a good property manager so you are not dealing with the headaches you mentioned.2) As a new investor/LLC, your company would not be eligible for a traditional mortgage.

You may want to consider an umbrella policy to give additional Liability coverage if the limtis on your homeowners are exhaused.