Don't be penny-wise, pound foolish and end up spending more in carrying costs than what you saved waiting to get the job completed.- Buy the materials yourself and only pay the subs after the work is complete.  

If that is the type of auction you are targeting you may need to rethink your strategy.  

After that you market the property to your target tenant.

Can someone rather newish to RE target their services by blogging?

If I were you, and looking at Fresno, I would target one of the many college areas.

As I look for properties in my target market, I see houses that appear to be attempts at flips and they are sitting on the market 6-9 months.

If you haven't yet- be sure to setup some "Keyword Alerts" to get into conversation in your target area.Seeya around!

What price point are you at and what does your target tenant expect?

My target price will be below 300K with 50% vendor or bank financing

Considering targeting a specific area and testing some direct marketing.