I would only consider Decatur for a cash flow play, not an appreciation play.  

I'm happy to share my experience as both a flipper and a lender.

not sure if you are familiar with basketball but it is alot like the spurs offense. meaning the system works if you trust the process. my uncle has everything set up. contractors, know how, experience, tenant screening. management. so i will integrate into his system and learn it to replicate it like Steve Kerr did for the WarriorsYes, I am - The Big Fundamental was a great power forward!

Do any BP members have experience buying land from GovernmentAuction.com? 

A deal killer has the experience that you don't.

There may be other issues at play here that have little to do with a lack of experience at real estate tech platforms. 

I don't know your area, so I can only write to my experiences in PA.You don't really convert your property to Section 8 (S8), but rather sign a lease with a tenant who happens to be funded by S8.

We want to buy an arcade machine for our STR that plays a bunch of different games.

So seems like a decent play for cash flow but not much for appreciation.

I feel like it's a space where great operators can really clean up, since the bar is set really low, in my experience at least.