I have a 780 credit score and no debt besides my personal residence.

Dumb question - but are these auctions online only, or in-person? 

Yes I have known it to work because the owner is not a push over, enforces policy and can make it run good......however, do you have the right personality to do this, AND if you move out can you continue to have the house run smoothly with no one in charge.  

I personally started in my local real estate market in Columbus Ohio.

I warn people over and over and over to know what they are buying and to go personally see what they are buying. 

Personally, If I could pull out a HELOC, I would use it to fix and flip which will typically make sense as you shouldnt be keeping the money out for that long and you can recycle it or pay it back and build off the capital that you got from. the flip.

The drawback is you need to build trust and relationships upfront.Both have their place, but private money tends to offer more flexibility, while hard money is more structured and accessible if you lack personal connections.

I would spend money to enhance and update to current standards the search functionality and person to person tagging so it's easier to find stuff.

Does anyone have personal experience with specific scrutiny of a logbook during an audit?

Quote from @Matthew Crivelli: Personally, I'm not a fan of Air B & B.