Now that if I do end up hiring a CPA, I'll have a better understanding of what's going on.

You should also look into getting your own bid.This will take some work on your part or you MUST understand that you will pay someone for saving you time.

If you look at those websites you can get an understanding of the process and costs involved. 

For the lenders that do a 0 with decent credit you will need to put down 15% - 20% on a bridge loan and that's with 720+ credit.More than that though, you need to understand the capital requirements. 

Be sure you understand the tax benefits and the errors that are often made that limit those tax benefits or come back to bite.

I 100% understand that state, county within state, building type, age, depth of coverage, etc., etc., etc. is going to make every property unique, but it would be great to come up with a rough rule of thumb that will allow a conservative estimate.

This is a two-way interview, so have a short list of questions to ask the mentor (What books do you recommend I read to gain a better understanding?

I am getting very close to understanding it.

The thing is to sell conventionally - potential buyers understandably would complain about the Ticky-Tacky stuff.  

The biggest problem with people doing driving for dollars is that they do not understand the concept of motivation.People often look for distressed properties.