First time REI, stumbled upon great HUD deal, need help!

[Cathy Moore]

Hi there. I've been curious/interested in REI for some time now and I think the time is right. I happened upon the HUD website the other day and narrowed down the search to my neighborhood. I found a deal for a place in a great location that is listed at $30-40K under what it probably should have been appraised at as is. It will require about $20-40K worth of work if bought for me to move in or rent. Now I need to figure out what I should bid. Does anyone have any good tips/formulas for this, as I know it will be a hot property and a lot of people will probably make good bids.