There are alternatives that are significantly faster, but for rate, you've got to endure the process with a bank.BTW. 

Here I thought I had insomnia!

This has been devastating to my family, and caused us more stress and heartache than anyone should have to endure.  

We bought as investors, so had to put down 25% and endure a higher interest rate than an owner occupant would.For a lender I highly recommend Bonnie at Rockland Trust; she recently helped my son buy a multi-family in Dorchester.  

IRS has 120 day sunset. ( they never redeem).. not sure about state liens want to check that out.. you know child support that type of thing.. and HOA are different in most states. in our state they are wiped out in other states they endure post sale. suggestion I would make is to simply go to the auctions and shadow bid..

Matthew,I'm a San Diego native so have endured many waves.

For a stock market analogy, I'm more of a dividend investor who likes slow constant returns as opposed to a growth investor who endures the peaks and valleys of overall return so your comment about not worrying about jumping into the "hot" market is fairly spot on. 

i've endured a couple of bad tenants since it bacame a rental in 2004--( like during the crash) but most have been a dream.So i see lots of opportunity for you-- you can buy HUD or Bank foreclosures as owner occupied.  

Then take the results and analyze how much stress you had to endure for each and the cash return.

I recently published a book explaining my thoughts on this, and our company's strategy: The Perfect Investment - Create Enduring Wealth from the Historic Shift to Multifamily Housing.