they were surprised at the sale when nobody else bid on the property. 

As far as electrical I got 3 bids and then priced out the costs for the meters and fuse boxes on EBay at the recommendation of my electrician and saved a bundle.

For example, multiple bids on jobs with contractors until you build a trustworthy relationship with someone.

We have seen price run-ups, bidding wars, rent increases like the rest of the country but at the end of the day our entry price point is still much lower. 

I subtract that from my offer and run my numbers as:Rent (estimates from the MLS on closed rentals in the last 3-6 months; we have access).Insurance (we go to an independent broker; who happens to work for my company, so we bid everything out to dozens of insurance companies for some estimates)Taxes (we challenge them after a year of owning)Water/common chargesWe do not add PM fees as we manage all of our properties ourselves. 

But as it goes, you just bring to them the inspection, contractor bids, a scope of work and total price estimate and they will hold back the money for repairs in escrow.

I guess I'll get bid and will try to stay under budget.

Correct, the redemption period is one year from the date of sale (in NC this date is not the date of auction but end of the final upset bid period).2.

After purchase one of our contractors goes through to do a detailed bid.

I assume that (for now) you are most comfortable with small projects since you said Handyman.Getting bids will suck a lot of your time away from your main investment strategy.