To avoid partnership issues, 50/50 is likely your best bet.

I know you have to eventually pay recapture, yadda, yadda but it still seems like a huge win given the time value of money.

At the auctions I attended the winning bid amounts varied from $80K-500K.  

She's an agent that works in that area and does a ton of work with out-of-state investors.I think NW Indiana is a great bet, it provides solid cash flow and continues to have Chicagoans flood that way to avoid taxes. 

i think the gift basket may be more beneficial to real estate agents to get referrals and possibly to get new tenants. i bet that was nice, i wouldn't forget that either!

There is no other service setup to almost solely win deal at the tax deed and foreclosure auctions.  

You bet.

Think of it as a (hopefully not too) expensive lesson on the ins and outs of deposit management; I bet you won't make the same mistake again!

And yet I would bet that any property that's not brand new or fairly new, will have some items that could fall into this category.

So starting with an agent probably won't work.Your best bet is to start networking, going to meetups, etc.