As a newbie, I'd advise you to stay away from auctions until you have some experience.You should also spend a few months working through the guides (including some awesome pod casts) you will find in great abundance here.When you've done that, you find a really great deal (start looking NOW!)

I went to a real estate investment meeting recently and the general consensus was that this was the best time to buy, not just because prices are low, but because sellers are more willing to do creative financing deals due to the abundance of properties for sale, and the decrease in qualified buyers.

Demand, driven by an abundance of money (investors with cash to invest somewhere after pulling it out of the stock market, people who wanted to be homeowners and were now able to borrow thanks to looser lending guidelines and low interest rates) went up quickly.

The city I invest in has an abundant supply of inventory so their is little to no appreciation.

It's not like there is 1 particular suburb that happens to have an over abundance of desperate sellers.

There's an abundance of resources and guidance here for whatever approach you want to take to get started.

You should be able to see white calcium staining on the walls or in the channels for sure. 

As a wholesaler and also working for a large lender feel free to ask any questions you may have.Knowledge and information are the key to success and there is an abundance here to take advantage of. 

On the Southern CA FB group there seems to be an abundance of buyers, so if you lock up a deal at the right numbers, then you should be able to find one.

One thing I would say is high cash flowing 4 units are definitely in lesser abundance than 2 units, at least in the markets I'm buying and selling properties in.