Atlanta, GA Foreclosure Property Acquisition Question

[Jon Mbu]

Hello everyone,

I'm a newbie here, in fact this is my first post too. For my first real estate investment I've decided to wholesale my first property, and after searching for properties in my desired area, I located a few but they're all on Auction.com, which brings me to my questions.

First question, Auction.com has a $2,500 deposit to be made before bidding, is that bid refundable if I'm not the winning bidder, and if I am the winning bidder, does it go towards to full amount owed?

Second question, if after winning the bid, there are occupants occupying the home, how do I go about getting them out? Is it safe to buy a home knowing people are occupying it still or is that something to stay away from?