Don't be afraid to ASK, not all auctioneers will answer your question but most will.Heads up! 

(I am afraid that is exactly what happened.)

A bit about me:I grew up in New Jersey, went to college at Villanova University near Philadelphia, then studied a bit outside of the US in Italy, Shanghai and Switzerland, ultimately ending up in Geneva, Switzerland.

One part is how crazy or liberal is the HOA- a great way to find out is knock on the neighbor's doors and ask- most people are not afraid to rave or spill the beans on their HOA. 

We are afraid of the risk...as I am sure most people are to start with.

Don't be afraid to jump in and help answer questions or ask some of your own.Have you setup your "Keyword Alerts" yet?

You live in a great place and I think you will find a lot of resources helpful here, don't be afraid to jump on and ask some questions!

Some deposit rates are actually negative in several European countries including Switzerland.  

If you had nothing in writing, signed, sealed and delivered I'm afraid you may be out of luck.Working with 100+ REO property purchases taught me that banks do whatever banks want to do. 

You will definitely learn more by doing and not being afraid to ask questions.5.