If you want to pay the property off faster, go with a 15 year fixed. 

I'm ready to close a week early but she doesn't want to work faster to send the documents to the out of state sellers to close. 

My question is would u go portfolio lender to build volume faster  even though it means less cashflow or wait the 6 months.

One is just faster than the other.Vi

Again, this is where an experienced short sale agent earns every penny.Don't use a short sale negotiator. that will gum up the deal faster than anything.

I then was able to rent out those units much faster and better quality tenants at a higher rental, within 3 days over the longer time of 2  weeks.

Builders are incentivised at these two times by their banks to get homes sold faster to gain access to more funds. 

You believe sanding and skim coating was faster and/or less expensive than tearing out the highly textured walls and starting fresh?

Faster and cheaper than reading the books.2.a Figure out what area of investing you are interested in.

If you just want to be a boring "builder basic" flipper, use the same fixtures and finishes for years and years but if you want to set your flips apart and help them sell faster, you have to mix things up a bit and picking those finishes is TIME-CONSUMING!