I can promise you that my first deal was TERRIBLE, but I lived at a reduced monthly cost to living than renting/buying a single family and that is what mattered. 

I believe this is what they call a pier and beam foundation which I have no experience with so I have no idea what it would cost to fix. 

In the future, I’ll factor in contractor costs more.

A manager will roughly cost $100-$150 a month to take over a unit (it could be more or less in your market) and manage the units.

The larger the purchase price the greater the spread you need between purchase price plus holding costs plus rehab cost and ARV.  40k projected profit on a 600k project is too skinny for me. 

Quote from @Hanna Brown: @Jay Hinrichs If the bidder at the auction pays cash for keys to get the homeowner out, does the person redeeming from the owner position (exercising rights of redemption w/in 180 days) have to reimburse them for those costs they paid to get the homeowner out? 

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

A little background: Feel free to scroll down for the main reason of this post...I started out in 2011 trying everything to make my start in real estate but was not successful until 2015 when we purchased our first duplex in Fresno CA.

Here's a fundamental explanation to get your juices flowing:Assume a house costs $200,000 and rents for $1,500.