My best advice is to visit the courthouse sale and observe.

I appreciate your observation.@Ned

Thank you for the input, I plan to attend the auction just as an observer to see what goes on and possibly do some networking while I am there.

A wiseman became wise by listening, reading, and observing.  

Having been thru a number of real estate cycles since starting in the late 70's (and as an observer before that) I remain fascinated at how quickly people forget. 

I am observing my first foreclosure auction on Tuesday.  

Irregardless of whether the tenant(s) are responsible for all maintenance, it should still have a 3rd party observer to watch for signs of neglect.

From what I've experienced and observed, water is the biggest source of damage to a home.

There is no right or wrong here, just what is best for you and your family.So I'll share a few observations I have on the topic:Retirement on a military pension is possible.

Hi @Cliff Jackson...I am also a newbie from collegeville area and in fact this is my first post and/or reply to a post after I found this site couple of months back..I have to admit that I have been a silent observer on this website reading various forums etc in my spare time at night with my full time job 9-6 and another full time job with two lill ones at home 6-10 :)....apparently my keyword search with 'collegeville' brought my attention to this post..good to see someone local with common interests and background..my goal is also to have my first investment property by the end of this year and in fact I joined a local investment group last month...just attended one meeting so far..but was impressed with the kind of folks who come there and certainly a great place to start networking..here is the website if you are interested ..http://digonline.org/If you end up joining, might as well meet there...Other confession - Ever since I started reading about real estate investment, I have been overwhelmed with the info out there and now I am thinking that I need more education than I previously thought (even if I know more than what I knew after I started reading since last 2-3 months)....but I am sure we as newbies will get somewhere if we are persistent enough in our efforts...So GOOD LUCK to you!!