Second, paper your acceptance criteria before vetting applicants.  

(like 10k+ closing costs quoted from multiple banks for a simple refi)Insurance in the 300 per month range vs 85 for the same property if it were held privately.Town taxes such as water/sewer/property are billed at a higher rate.Plus more.So, what I am thinking of doing is:a: quit claiming the deed into my personal name.b: adding a million-dollar liability policy to the standard dwelling/fire coverage to protect my assets.

I would say that 90% of the deals that look good on paper really aren't when you consider factors like rental comps, rehab costs, taxes, etc.

Zillow leads are just bad, plain and simple.  

On paper it will not seem like that is the case, but you will have staff, costs and other misc that come up.  

Simple 10% calculations I can hang with but the second year calcs and cap rates and all that...

Keep the message simple and add more information as you continue to send.

My advisor recommends month to month for the simple fact, the process of eviction is quicker.

At a minimum, a home usually must pass a 4-point inspection to qualify for insurance (and thus financing), so if a house needs something as simple as a new roof or a new a/c or furnace (which is very often the case with REOs), it kills the deal for conventional, FHA, or VA financing. 

If that was the case then the duplex would be better, on paper any way, but then on the other side the duplex is spreading your risk over only two units so if you loose a tenant that is half of your income, where as in a quad when you lose a tenant its only 25% of your income.