Buying property at the courthouse steps

[Al Mac]

Hi,

I'm a small investor with a handful of rental properties held over 10 years now. Now I'd like to get into flipping and are raising enough cash to buy one property at a time. I have been considering buying at foreclosures at the courthouse steps as my first source of deals (all my previous experience buying property has been from the MLS).

So my questions to the community are:

1) where can I get a list of properties to be auctioned at my local courthouse?

2) What are the basic steps I need to take before the auction day in preparation to bid? (i.e. where to check for any liens etc.)

3) Do I need to have a title check on each property I intend to bit on? if so how do I get that, through an escrow company?

4) I can assess a property and the cost for repairs if I can have access to the property, however, how are the repair costs estimated when access to the property is not granted?

5) I understand that the main risks are that the title may not be clean, back taxes may be owed, tenant might not want to leave.  Aside from these, are there any other significant risks that could go unnoticed and found out about them after the purchase?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thank you all.