I am specifically looking in Essex county, MA because I want to house back close enough to my current W-2 job.

With a private auction of an already foreclosed property, you will usually be allowed as part of the closing to have a title search done and to buy title insurance.

Obviously you want to lower expenses while maximizing revenue. 

LTRs with long term conventional financing and standard management aren't really cash flowing anywhere right now. sure, there are lower cost markets that look better on paper, but there are costs associated with those supposedly cheap markets as well - deferred maintenance, more challenging tenant base, higher cost turnovers as a percentage of the rent.2. i wouldn't pick a random market thousands of miles away based solely on statistics or numbers. 

I would negotiate a price point that is lower - maybe the 10-12% range above "market".

WARNING: if you do not prepare for this, you can enter a death spiral: deteriorating properties lead to lower rents, worse tenants, more wear and tear, even less cash flow to fund repairs and ultimately erode asset value.I do not mean to rain on your parade, hopefully, this is a helpful long term perspective. 

I was considering staying close to home.

you do have the ability to close your account at any time. 

@Dave McIntyre were you able to / are you ever able to get access to the property after winning the bid but before closing (assuming it's  a vacant property)?

Rent growth has a larger impact on long term cash flow then initial cash flow.I am confident that on a 10 year hold, the higher cost market BRRRR in most markets will out perform the lower cost market BRRRR.