--but any intelligent seller will see it for what it is and not be interested.

I'd say it's more likely that they're kept artificially low through the 2016 election season...

I'm ready to move on this and look forward to attending my first sheriff sale, but I want to ensure I have enough information to intelligently compete and also not make any obvious/newbie mistakes.

This simple question, and the conversation that followed, made me realize a few things. 1.Not everyone is up for taking risks. 2.Not everyone, no matter their corporate background or how intelligent they are, is cut out to own and/or run a business. 3.Some people seem to be looking for validation of why NOT to pursue their ideas or passions. 4.Some people are perpetual students and never make the leap from knowledge to application.

Your mind is powerful because you are obviously very intelligent, but with a powerful mind such as yours you, if you try hard enough, can convince yourself of anything - even of paying more than you know you should.

I looked for similar forums in my area but although there are groups and associations, none seem to have forums like this one.My current job is IT consultant in the Business Intelligence domain.

Interest rates, stock prices, employment and real estate seem to be closely tied together and if you ask me stocks are currently artificially inflated by money being printed like crazy, while wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living (including real estate).  

Who in your family had the financial intelligence to make the trust fund possible?

I'm currently having informational interviews, and beginning to search for internships and entry-level positions.Beyond that, I plan to start investing in real estate and building my portfolio, as soon as it's feasible and I can do it in an intelligent, informed way.

If the property cash flows decently while being leveraged, I would 100% do it.I'd completely ignore Dave Ramsey on this topic, he preaches all debt is bad, but debt in this scenario is intelligent.