You probably should have taken action earlier.

In that case, the FCRA requires what is known as an "adverse action letter."

It sounds like this property is a problem, however they probably have bigger problems to deal with since they don't have a mortgage on it and no action has been taken on the house. 

What is the best course of action. 

Hope that isn't their usual course of action.

It is great if you make money but even if you don't, your action will push you to learn and do the next one with more experience. 

I've never done it before so I'm looking for any advice or due diligence actions that would need to be performed before moving forward.

It'll be interesting to see if that talk is backed up by action! 

I would think the owner could still sell it to you before the auction....so that might be a good course of action, to contact them and find out what they want for it and see if they will sell to you before the auction. 

Ive watched all the podcasts, read all the books, taken all the necessary action (analyzed deals, went and saw houses, marketing, direct mail, spoken with owners, etc) but the truth is......having money sucks when its “not enough.”