It's fine for some people I guess if you're not able to generate deal flow of your own or are fine with smaller margins.  

If you're not able to compete, well hey, sorry but I don't make the rules around here.I live and operate in Oakland, a heavily rent controlled city, where the level of tenant rights are so strong that they literally have more rights as a tenant than you do actually owning the building.  

I work until 5 so I was not able to commit to traveling so far away from home.

I am not able to get a conventional loan, (just graduate college, so poor work history) but this seems like an option I could pursue now instead of having to wait a year or two to build a credible work history.

I was not able to attach it, but this is the verbiage as of March 2014.

Hey Mike, I have some architect friends in Sandpoint if you are not able to find anyone down there. 

I was not able to get in to see it, but after it was listed on MLS, I got my agent to get us in.

$50k may be a more realistic number if you're not able to reduce some of that pricing gap.There are a lot of good tips all over this forum and in the podcasts for ways to find different contractors as well as how to get some better pricing.Good luck at the auction.

This means I can help them by buying cash, closing fast, etc.In YellowLetters.com, a lot of their pre-made postcards even have the word "CASH" displayed very prominently.But it seems to me that I'm less useful to a motivated seller if I'm using conventional mortgage because I'm not able to close in a couple of weeks and I won't be able to pay them cash, I need to have the property inspected, etc.But since I don't have any investment properties yet, I could use conventional mortgages for my first 8 or so properties.

The main reason is in fact your situation, a bidder that was anticipating buying a property was outbid, therefore that bidder know knowing that they are not able to buy the property it is likely and reasonable that the bidder may move on to bid on other properties thereby possibly making them financially unable to buy both OR simply not willing to buy both.