I will say, I've picked up a solid base of knowledge thanks to numerous helpful podcasts, blogs & books that have been recommended here and elsewhere.  

I disagree that tax can only be deferred for as in the scenario where we take back a 2nd note for any am't above $800K for the house, the payments can be made over time, which then can be paid in years when there is no W-2 income or offset against numerous mortgage interest deductions.  

And what if you have numerous apartments and storage buildings..

I've read around the forums and listened to numerous podcasts and figured that it's about time I provided an intro.A little about myself:Based out of San Jose / San Francisco, CARecent college graduateSpent the past 3 years working full-time in tech startup sales (yup - I was still attending school)Currently transitioning job positions from smaller companies to Indeed.com - also in salesSaved up money from my various jobs to purchase my first rental in Sacramento, CA using BRRRCurrently at 4 total rentals in Sacramento.  

That strategy can also increase the fee in the event that there is a bidding war, and the deal was priced low enough.

If you want some war stories on the matter, just ask @Jay Hinrichs ... from what I've heard him say, he has a PHD from the school of hard knocks on the subject :)

Many of the properties sold at the opening bid (because there were no bidding wars) and some were higher, depending on the number of folks interested in them.

There are numerous other factors to consider but I just don't see how it would make good, financial sense.  

To avoid war zones talk to a realtor who sells to families.

So no matter what they actually paid for it (in this case $150K) it doesn't include any other costs associated with their action to get the property, so their reserve price with legal fess may be much higher.The only downside I can say to using any online auction site is that even if you win the bidding war, read the fine print:  The sellers reserve the right to further negotiate with you regarding the price of the home.