So who cares if I own or not?

However, keep in mind it may complicate financing, add costs, and require careful management to maintain liability protection.

Do you know how to read the credit/criminal background?

I look forward to reading the rest of your updates on here for the community.  

Deal is in northern california and looking to be close before mid jan. report reads 20k fee buts its actually like 13 assignment. 

@Jay Hinrichs has posted on that in the past.Many people like to try and hide their identity because of the spotlight effect which refers to how people often overestimate how much others notice (or care about) them, effectively inflating their own importance in society. 

Of course another reason is to make sure my family is taken care of.

@Paola AstridRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

As others have stated, your fit & finish goals should be guided by whether you plan to:1) Rent: tenants don't always take care of a property, so you want to use lower-grade materials and workmanship.2) Flip: higher quality on workmanship and materials is usually required.Regardless, you always want to "Maintain to the Neighborhood".

Just be careful your expenses and time to complete don't go over.