But those exterior pitches are amazing and make for a huge transformation.

For you this lets you sell the house, have it staged, and have the tenant help cover and minimize the loss until the sale.

The property is close to train tracks, so some higher quality, sound minimizing windows will really help the rentablity of the property.3.

No formal pitches or anything, just friends and future friends hanging out.

There are ways to mitigate your exposure, not every house under 30k is in a bad neighborhood (hello, Columbus OH), and there are a million ways to minimize your risks in these neighborhoods.

When a loan goes to auction, a minimal bid is set by the Mortgagee usually through the Mortgage Servicing Company through the Foreclosing Attorney at the county.

You would need to inquire about obtaining title insurance from a company and ensure that you can do as one removed from the tax sale with minimal issue.  

There are things I do sub out , roofing on anything over 5/12 pitch , most electrical , and some A/C work .

If a lender does go forward, your have recourse, place funds in escrow with your offer to purchase the note, that shows your ability to perform.First thing you need to do is run title and see who is on what base before you pitch anything.

You can likely afford the downpayment (3%) on a FHA loan already or with minimal savings, so if you can find a 2-4plex in an area you like at a below market price with enough cashflow to cover your mortgage and have some additional cash to enhance your savings toward more property, just start looking.Check out Brandon Turner's blog on Hacking Your Housing and listen to the podcasts.