Flipping provides a short term gain, which typically people use to get started in rentals or some other form of passive income.

I am an active buy and hold investor in Geogia    I have 8 SFH long term rentals in the north east suburbs of Atlanta   I am currently looking to diversify into either another area of the country (probably Tampa, Fl) or perhaps to pick up a few beach (PCB) and lake (Chattuge, Hartwell) short term rentals to attach to a different market   I would like to connect with others in any of those areas to build a better network    I look forward to the discussions.  

Each state has their Right of Redemption period, so you can't touch the house until the county actually enters judgement of foreclosure.

I’m currently learning about short sales and foreclosures and general real estate investing.

An ideal situation is for the now seller/landlord or you to draft a document that states the tenants must vacate within 15 days after closing, have them sign it and then leave that as the now landlord's responsibility to deal with, its his mess, and then also have the landlord pay you (escrow) PITI + security deposit + expenses 10% during the period these tenants are still in there (refunding the security and expenses if not needed back to the seller). 

This might be a short term solution where she refinances in 1-2 years but we want something official written up.This would be a loan as we would like the money back and although we are much better off than her, we would ideally like to get paid back.  

While well and septic don't necessarily disqualify a potential investment they do raise some concerns during the inspection period. 

It's not as simple as a fixed holding period.  

@Charles Biter wholesaling seems to have a lot of waisted time because there are so few deals out there to wholesale, would you be able to give me a short break down on how you wholesale?

More importantly, a GOOD realtor who takes your criteria, financial situation, short-term & long-term goals into consideration is going to be a huge asset to your REI career.