I'd bet if there were a good field of competition the price would drop

Even still, investors will often want equity in the projects.Giving equity to private investors can hedge your bet.

My bet is both those will be redeemed prior to auction.  

In Metro Detroit area, police will not remove these types of occupants (they are afraid of scamming landlord having police remove legal tenants), calling them a "civil matter" forcing landlord to start court eviction process. thats a good question Drew.. but I bet if the police are aloud just a little bit of fact checking and do police work they can determine the fraud very quickly.. 

Details here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/1214849-dmv-...I recommend checking them all out initially, I bet you'll have a lot of fun networking!

If the real estate is producing a steady return, you can make more aggressive bets with stocks or other alt assets.

That being said, I'm part of an experienced Syndication Group who invests not only in Multifamily, but also different asset classes:  Self Storage, Mobile Home Park, RV Park, and Retail - all to diversify the investment offerings.Reach out, and the next time we have an LP capital raise, I will send you the OM (and obviously info on our company) to review.

Getting multiple contractors involved will be your best bet to get a reliable estimate, though you need to come up with a scope of work.

If not, buying a turnkey, rent-ready property could be a better first bet.

I also read in real estate by the numbers that it's risky to bet on market appreciation.