I quickly learned early on that straight rentals in my market was a non-starter, the price to rent ratio just didn't make any sense and it's only gotten worse over the years.An average home in my market is about $550k now but will only rent for $2k.

A hard money lender who works with auctions should be able to get you funded very quickly if you have set things up with them beforehand. 

Agree, I'd look for a HML that can close quickly or a Private Investor that can write a check

Need to remedy that quick.  

The thing I am noticing though, is that these properties are still being bought by others in the area, fairly quickly, close to asking price.

I'd make sure that your property manager can do quick evictions, they don't cost too much and that you can talk to other investors that have been happy with their tenant placement. 

If they are professional, they can explain this quickly and easily.

As long as you can show there is enough profit for you to pay the loan back and/or provide them with a cut of the return you should be good to go.The flip budget is the biggest thing to tackle because if you are off more than a little it can quickly take you from the black to the red.  

Current lot rents are about 10% below market so a small increase can be realized quickly.

@Bill Werkheiser It's just a quick napkin math way to estimate the expenses on a multifamily property.