We said we would buy as-is and take care of all the trash ourselves.

I'm in the same boat for reference- I bought into the "buy now, refi later" idea and am sitting on a 7.375% on my latest property acquisition and a commercial line of credit I have is at prime + 1 (so 8.5%).

There is so much MORE work involved as opposed to buying a fixer-upper and rehabbing that!

Consequently,  there's rarely enough of a deviation in price between these auctions and what you can buy on the MLS/elsewhere with full diligence capabilities to make these transactions worthwhile. 

Buy the property that you want to own the most 10 years from now.

I buy to rehab and turn into rentals so Pinson, Pelham, Bessemer are a great fit for the areas and returns I'm looking for.

Often they like to ultimately buy their properties and will pay over market value so they don’t have to uproot the established program to stay in the home they’ve been renting.

Your investment property - This you could do a 1031 exchange on and buy another property you intend to use for investment. 

Better to make that mistake, and buy another deal, than to not bought the deal.  

Investors should always have a Buy box.