hey Danielle I am really late on this post, I am a drywall salesman I deal or know a good chuck of installers in town (I better since I've been doing it for 9 years) On future projects I would be more then happy to give you a couple of contacts to supply labor.

Getting some good weather would be ideal too.

Make sure the HVAC, water heater, and appliances work well, those are the most common issues that I deal with maintenance wise, that can be a big financial hit when renting if you're not ready for with a reserve. 

Also, if I can acquire it through a subject to deal I'd like to actually put my family in it since it's an ideal location for us.

Ideally, I’d be wholesaling and not need to bring much more than earnest money into the deal.

Ideally, a tax escrow payment has already been established on the account to help ensure taxes remain current going forward.Bob's approach will work if the borrower agrees to the large escrow payment. 

I would recommend targeting ideal neighborhoods based on likelihood of a good deal.

California is not an ideal market so I will be looking at different markets over the next few months and aim to start my next stage of investing in March / April 2015.I am new to out of state investing (and went to school at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where the motto is "learn by doing") so I want to spend a minimum of a few months in my desired market, personally building my team and portfolio. 

I can't offer an opinion on this strategy but would consider it the least ideal way for you to buy.

Ideally you want .25-.3.