Good point on postponing depreciation recapture indefinitely.

i ended up postponing the lockout because i received confirmation that the agency was going to pay the back months and they did. 

Cant be indefinite I assume...so this may have postponed the issue, so don't let your guard down and be prepared for this being an issue againI would have serious conversations about the current set up is going to only last so long, so lets plan on whats going to happen when the charity dries up.

At the time of the sale, the old guy will "qualify" bidders (Look over their cashier's checks) and then will announce the postponements and cancellations first.

we've been asked the same question by a dozen or so good friends who live in/near SF about whether it's worth postponing the ownership dream, given where the bay area market is in 2018. personally, I think that right now is the time to hold off on entering the bay area market... unless you find a truly off-market, discounted opportunity through networking or a personal connections.sidenote: moving to the east bay (alameda, particularly) actually shortened my commute time into my day job in SF, compared to when i lived in SF. i'm sure you've heard this perspective before, but there's goodness to be found in the east bay, if you are dead set on buying in 2018/2019.from an investing perspective, there are still strong returns to be found outside of california. that's why we recommend to friends with capital that they consider looking into investment. that way they can start building wealth now and position themselves for buying that beautiful home when the time is financially right. sidenote: i recently posted on a similar topic on this thread. you can see if you scroll down and there are dozens of other helpful comments on this topic, on that thread: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/587593-general-do-you-rent-or-own-the-home-you-currently-live-in?

I've been interested in investing in residential single family and small multi-unit buy and hold properties for a few years but a move postponed my ability to jump in. 

I have seen a TCB sale in a different county overturned by the TCB because there was a court order to postpone the sale, and the TCB did not postpone - that is another sort of screw up that the TCB will perform ;)This sale might have been under the automatic stay of the BK courts - so the TCB would not have been allowed to sell, and it should have been postponed if that is the case.

In the jurisdictions I operate in judges normally postpone evictions for 3 to 4 weeks around Christmas. 

We have over 500 for sale each month which are either new or post poned from prior months.

If I choose to go after the student loans first it will mean postponing REI for several years.