I dont know the market in Las Craces.....but in the DC area, we definitely have a seasonal adjustment on sales, and if the property was here, it would have been listed at the worst possible time. 

I had purposefully waited as long as I could in case it was blocked, but I figured chances were slim at this point. 

Trying to start on the next deal with about $20k from the sale.

Many of these were lost in tax sales, and the ones that they got re-performing underwrote loan mods at low single digit interest rates during ZIRP and could not resell them at a profit once interest rates were hiked.

In a traditional MLS sale, there are realtor fees, there can be concessions, there can be work orders and delays. 

States like CA, NY, CT, NJ, MD are notorious for high sale price homes, higher taxes and hard to cash flow.

Use Loopnet and look for the oldest nastiest piece of land or lot for sale.  

This is what I am encountering, in the current Mortgage Industry.If you think you will go FHA, Conventional, FHA 203k, etc. and then Quit Claim the property, to a Corporate Entity, or a Land Trust you run the risk of the lender discovering a Title Transfer occurred and activating the "Acceleration Clause" or "Due on Sale Clause" that requires the loan to be paid in full, within 'x' number of days.

Most lenders will for try to send you down other roads first such as a loan mod or short sale, before they agree to DIL. 

I know this sounds a bit like a weather forecast - "Sunny with a chance of rain" - but my crystal ball seems to be on the fritz right now.Best regards, Stevan