Welcome John, I am fresh off the boat as well and a newbie.

For the people that want to put the situation behind them and start fresh, I can’t imagine many homeowners who would want to sign over the deed to you and continue to have the mortgage in their name while you promise to make the payments.

If there's any link or tool that helps assess deals that would be helpful too.Very fresh starting out.

Back on the market with a fresh inspection report to look at.

Maybe he's a good tenant and you will not want to deal with a turnover, or maybe you want to start fresh.

I fresh and brand new to real estate. 

To keep the conversations flowing smoothly and fresh in my mind, I practice my dialogue with sellers when I’m in the car alone, at my house, have my girlfriend role play as one etc.

Those doors and trim that look good enough to keep when you first walk through a property in bad shape will look pretty rough once everything else around them is new and/or freshly painted.  

From what I'm seeing..fresh paint, granite on the counters, pain the cabinets plus new hardware, laminate flooring anddd....done?

Probably not that appetizing to think about taking on a mortgage again, but it could be a way to breath fresh life into the properties.