She's doing these little things to prepare for that.

If they accept you can setup closing at a title company or an attorney.If you are not confident in preparing an offer with all required disclosures (wells, mold, lead, etc) you should pay someone to do this for you. 

There will never be a perfect time, and you will never be fully prepared.

then maybe another $25 every 6 months after, until it reaches the appropriate level.OR, raise it up $400 bucks, prepare for an eviction and have 2 units vacant at the same time. 

While you are preparing you need to have your credit checked, pull your own credit report and score so it's not counted against you. 

You're playing with Fire and could potentially get burned badly.At this point the bank is almost irrelevant because they don't own the property,the seller does.You have to negotiate with the seller and make a written offer to be taken to the bank for approval.Not going to be easy with a short sale situation and the bank is already upset with the seller and now preparing to foreclose soon.The tenants are going to be the hardest part in this mess because they have just restored their tenants rights with the accepted rent whether it was the entire amount or not.I doubt the bank will stop the auction unless you offer much more cash than you should and no contingencies sight unseen.Expect the inside to be trashed and need a full gut job remodel and make your offer accordingly.You'll have to formally evict the tenants after taking possession

I think that helped prepare for this in many ways.  

If not, you have to do a whole lot of **** before you build a house in LA County, prepare yourself. 

I currently do not have any properties, but I am preparing my business ahead of time by collecting important forms and getting educated.

Prepare a solid BUSINESS PLAN with your goals and stick to your business plan.