I know what I have to do in San Diego, but I have no clue if Encino has some extra hoops to jump through.

The place already needs a full update, so the only extra cost to us is the movers and a dumpster.

We were quoted $130K for every single thing, including extras that we wanted like a sump pump, the mold remediation for both houses (2 came on this property) was $20K alone, @Mark Gallagher.

Sometimes that area can be sort of 'hit or miss'..Price seems good, but I'd be looking in to the area in more detail..

Care to share the financial details?  

The detailed answers to your questions would be to much to write in one sitting.

Do not try to do everything yourself.Always remember to do a math analysis on your prospective properties and try to look at them before you make an offer or at least have a clause in the sales contract that allows you some time ( about 15 days to do a detailed inspection and possibly back out of the deal without a penalty that will hurt you too much.  

Any details or insight on how the process went?

First of all, in order for a seller to get the bank to consider a short sale, they have to submit a detailed short sale packet to the lender, which usually requires the assistance of a realtor. 

I do some private lending in some parts of Atlanta...feel free to send me details if you have a specific deal you're considering...