You then have the choice of 1)  Buying out the 1st lien  2)  Letting it go at FC and hoping there is something left over for you.  

I am still new to all of this and with time and education I will start narrowing down my cities of choice.

However, we can get more doors elsewhere.Writing this down makes it seem like a clear choice that getting more units would be the right choice, but would there be advantages in getting ONE deal in SoCal over multiple smaller deals out of state?

Walking away at this point is a perfectly good choice too.

Everyone has personal choice.

I'm having a hard time quitting a job for a small company where I know and like the owner, to start as an assistant property manager even though I think that it could be a good career choice to help with investing/managing my own properties in the future.I guess my question is...

BUT once you survive it, you almost systemically make better choices going forwards. 

A very seasoned investor will have a different response than a seller with emotional ties to the property.If the house is in great shape, top of the market range for size/age/quality,  sellers are usually only concerned with price and who is most likely to get to the closing table...On the opposite end of the spectrum, if the property has condition issues, then it comes down to who is able to take on that burden (cash/203(k)) and get to the closing table.If competing with regular buyers, waving inspection/financing contingencies and buying with cash can make a difference, but that also depends on how deep of a discount you're trying to get.If competing with cash buyers on a distressed property, you pretty much don't have a choice but to wave contingencies and come in with a decent offer.

My post was very clear and very simple, learn from it or don't, your choice.

These are just some of the aspects that make owning property a wise choice.