But new investors have slim pickings for any deals.  

I agree with @Ian Reeves - the numbers look way too slim for a flip.

That is very slim margins.  

We sorted for the first few years to only make a slim amount of money.

Most if not all work do not need permits. profit margin will probably be slim but what you learn and having this experience on your resume is worth 100x more and can leverage that to get and fund your next flip.

the bank does not have a legal right to sell it to you till after the confirmation of sale, you could work out with them a deal prior related to a bid amount though, but someone else could bid. best would be contact the owner and see if they will delay the sale to get a deal done prior to sale, otherwise buy it at sale, or if no one buys at sale you would have to wait till its REO  if no one bids at sale there is a slim chance the bank will sell their bid to you, it not common but does happen once an a while, you would need to go through the bank attorney generally for that, unless you have the right bank contact. good luck. 

@Richard XiongYour margin is very slim.

Slim pickins for a Flipper.

If you're looking at people that aren't in any kind of distressed situation, then I think your odds are slim to none.

If your cash flow is already slim just on the taxes, insurance, loan payment side then that puts you at more of a disadvantage.