KJ, I guess I'll just jump through "the man's" hoops and play the game. 

So for your local Denver buying, make sure you love the property and ready to play the long game.

Lenders in larger deals get picky about getting into some convoluted contract, partnership and future sales agreements in an attempt to play the system.

Learn to play the guitar, Money  nothin' and your chicks for free......LOLYep, this is in the right forum, the psychology of investors.

Lastly ask her what she or her parents are going to do if it doesn't sell FSBO (Kinda play the Realtor card here for a second) If they say they will just list it then show her what it will cost her to list the house vs selling it to you.Lastly if the house doesn't need a lot of repairs and could cash flow well then maybe look at doing a seller finance or lease option.

Lisa,People love to buy auctioned properties, but not everyone is equipped with knowledge to play the game.

Its an interesting way to play the rental market with two equally profitable situations.

Your other options are fine if you want to play the appreciation came and don't need the cash flow or want to be much more hands on in your property investments.  

@Tom Sylvester yes I play the cashflow 101-202 all the time, but looking for more in-depth real estate learning tool that you can use your knowledge and experiences in the same manner of cash-flow, or simply keep yourself above water.

Then you can play the banks off each other.Is your bank a 203k specialist?