I wouldn't want to steer you in the wrong direction or respond without knowing all the facts and circumstances surrounding the investment.

Can anyone steer me in the right direction?

I am happy to connect and steer you in the right direction from my lessons if that helps. 

Given your position, I'm going to steer you in a different direction.

As a noob, I'd steer clear of the auction steps like the folks above suggested.

Do you steer clear of bidding wars altogether?

You could also look in the Pensacola, Tallahassee area northwest Florida and I think that you might find the same kind of above average rental ratesI tend to steer clear of Section 8 particularly if I have decent properties as they are the lowest level of renters and don't take care of much. 

That said, I've sort of done a 180 on my attitude towards out of state investment in our city - we could use it - steering people in the right direction and hopefully encouraging them to do the right thing is key.

Our government over reacted but continues doing a good job rebounding and steering the economy towards a soft landing. 

I'm looking to connect with established professionals in the space who could assist in steering me in the right direction.Cheers!