Do any of you bid on site unseen auction properties?

[Konrad R.]

I've been to a few REO's in my area and they seem to be going higher than what the auction closed at. There have been bidding wars on a few of them. I know getting them prior to the bank owning them adds a lot of additional risk. I've noticed a lot of the properties up for auction do not allow for an inspection. How do you run the numbers if you can't see the interior? Do you just plan for worse case scenario?

I went to one house today. It was vacant, so I walked up to the house and looked through the windows. The interior looked in great shape. I noticed that the cleanout for the sewer line was dug up. Also, there was a note on the door from the utility company. It stated that the leak was after the meter and the water has been shut off. It suggested to call a plumber to resolve the issue. I'm not sure how significant the leak is. It could be a busted pipe underground. 

What are your thoughts on buying houses that do not allow bidders to look at the property?