My main goal in renting it out is to minimize our losses while we are gone-- I'm under no illusions that this will make us rich.

Your outline reads like an "anticipated" plan, not an in effect plan.I can understand the comfort of sitting safely at your computer vs meeting folks face to face, but eventually to make any money in re investment you are most likely going to have to at least speak with someone on the phone or meet them face to face.Until you can close face to face, I find it difficult to believe that you are going to have any significant success doing so by building a tenuous online relationship.Online marketing can be an illusion for people that usually ends up soaking up tons of time and effort trying to understand and master an ever changing and very stimulating field.

The longer term goal is to generate enough income to ditch the day job, and the motivation for that is to spend more time with my family (though I am under no illusions that what we are getting into will not require work!)

Have no illusion, these are reserve auctions, but my experiences thus far have been positive.

I convinced myself (and even those around me) that everything will be fine next month, next year, once I got to accumulate this or pay off that, etc...and it was all an illusion.

I can tell you that inheritances controlled by this many people could get complicated as reaching concensus on a price and terms will need to be sold to 6 parties and some are likely to have illusions of granduer as to the value.

I'll give you $100k cash, or I'll give you $115k but with 30% down and owner financing the rest at 2% over 30 years.Options give them an illusion of power and control over the situation.

My question is, are these buy and sell statistics driving up the illusion of people moving to these counties?

[questionable shrug]One can just look at Crunchbase to see what Silicon Valley is up to and the illusions we're living.

That "positive" cash flow is an illusion.