Questions from a College Student

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Hey Everybody,

I've been looking to get into the REI game for awhile now, but have never had the opportunity. I have recently paid off all of my credit card debt, and my FICO score is once again rising and will soon be back in the 750 range that it once was.

I'm currently attending the University of Florida through financial aid, but I get quite a bit of money to live on, and would use some of this toward my mortgage payments on a property that I would buy...

Anyway, my question is more or less about buying proprety from the courthouse auctions. It seems that not too many people in Alachua County are playing the REI game (compared to Tampa at least), and I've noticed some homes auction for as much as $70k below the market value of the neighborhood. I'd love to be able to buy a home at the courthouse, especially if I could live in it for awhile while fixing it up to sell.

The problem is that I'm not sure how I would get financing. It's my understanding that to buy a home at auction, you must have all of the money to pay either that day, or that week. In that case, I would have to find a lender willing to give me a loan for a designated amount before attempting to buy a home at auction, correct? Would something like a FHA loan be an option in this scenario, or do I have to go another route?

I currently have no job here at college, as I have plenty of financial aid to help me through school, but would be more than willing to take a job to help with the mortgage payment. Showing income could be a problem, but I have been employed through my father's business for some time, it's just a matter of showing worthy income. Could I show any of my financial aid as income that would be of use in the home buying process?

Any help would be appreciated, and I'll be reading through other posts to hopefully find some help as well.

Thanks.