The information contained in this post is not to be relied upon.

This is better than relying on insurance because it protects your personal assets from liability.

I personally wouldn’t rely on monthly cash flow to “save up” for that balloon payment either. 

They rely on expected rent to qualify you, but beware – the interest rates can be steeper.

Because my income starting out is expected to be around 200 K, I believe that I can rely exclusively upon conventional financing to begin with, until I exhaust the total of 10 mortgages for which I am eligible, and proceed to snowball all profits into paying off each consecutive property -- each time I pay one off, I will be eligible for another (10th) conventional loan, as well as a home equity loan secured by the recently paid off property, which I can use to buy 1-2 more properties.

Don't bring anyone with you because the tendency can be to rely on them to remember or understand and you need to make sure you are doing that and taking charge.What was your dad's plan to flip it in a year? 

Also, each property profile is different and the analysis for a property local to you may be different than one wherein you rely on a property manager from afar. 

Rely on the local experience you find here to help build the picture at a distance. 

Many of the tax professionals on this forum are not "cheap" but can make a good fee for fixing situations where investors relied on poor advice from cheap advisors.My conclusion is to interview a few and go with a professional that you feel comfortable with no only their fee, but also their personality, their experience, their reputation, and their willingness to not only advise you as you start your journey but provide education and planning for what type of investor you want to be. 

I’m hoping to do something similar and would rely completely on a fantastic property management company.