Unless you wait till it expires which as you stated puts you out of the running until everyone else got to look at it. 

In one part the author talks about determining if there are buyers in the area by seeing if at least 60% of the houses that are listed get sold vs expiring.

I would buy a list of low equity sellers and market to them or just simply market to expired listings @Allende Hernandez@Brian Gibbons

I have had my eye on a property that was a homepath...just as I finally decided to bid, the listing was expired!

They will likely give you a list of numbers to call for expired listings or FSBO's and say good luck.

It has a expiration as most court have held the insured has a duty to read the policy and if the do not understand it to seek legal counsel. 

If this is a property that can attract a quality tenant fairly quickly (i.e. an A or B class property), I would nix the property management option completely and provide a notice to the tenant that I will not be renewing the lease when it expires in February. 

Since this tenant is already in place, they may only require a copy of the new lease (or an addendum until the lease expiration) and proof that you are now the owner.

@Tyler ThorntonI think wholesaling is a very tough area to SPECIALIZE inI think having a license and being able to do creative financing to help homesellers solve a  problem is an easier gig  and a faster paycheck than specializing in wholesaling  My friend @Dev Horn has written about the "rule of seven" and wholesale marketingIn Wholesaling,  You need to take a good list and mail it seven times or more, and in competitive areas like where I live in Los Angeles it's more like 10 times That's a lot of money in marketing,  and a lot of time with no money coming in @John Hixon  I believe has spent six months in marketing without a lot of results  in my 30 years experience I believe if you had a real estate license and you went after expired and cancelled listings and long days on the market (DOM) and you look at other solutions besides cash offers, like subject to, lease with option,  lease purchase, wraparound mortgage purchase, joint venture with the seller on a minor rehab,  and of course listing it, all these alternatives to cash offers will allow you to make money faster than just Wholesaling  The other issue about Wholesaling:Cash Buyers need to be buying right now in that area for you to quickly make some money, if they are not buying, you will have a hard time.

Is that due to direct mail, craigslist or expired listings etc.?