Now I'm studying CRE finance, investment, and tax strategies aside from my full-time job to better equip myself with the essential financial literacy. 

I was recommended by a fellow tax deed investor H.

@Mickey Petersen I bought this one in Mar 2020 from the local tax sale.

Same goes for number of LLCs and what to fund them with, since bear in mind that CA tends to be more cumbersome and expensive to have LLCs than other states.California is generally more cumbersome than other states when it comes to taxes and filings.

However your situation becomes a trickier case study since these properties first served as your primary residence which could provide additional benefits form a tax perspective not available to an owner of investment real estate and nobody has a crystal ball and knows the property with certainty will transition into an investment property. 

If your intent it primarily to resell (the definition of a fix n flip) then you can't 1031 it.But that being said, there are a bunch of my clients over the years who have shifted their model slightly so they can get the adrenaline rush of fixing and the tax deferral of 1031.  

Tax Considerations: What taxes should I be aware of for property management services, even if the properties are mine?

Take into account variables like affordability, property taxes, rental regulations, and vacancy rates while doing in-depth market research to find viable investment areas.

A bunch of muni's (tax free), some treasuries, VOOG and maybe 10% to dabble in real estate. 

I bought 10 acres of vacant land in Joshua Tree CA at the county tax auction.