I'm trying to find out who owned the building prior to the people that sold it to me.

You can just call the agent and preview a lot of the homes prior to the auction, so that's nice. 

Call Mark Prior (949) 939-5766.

Can this be done without transfer of title prior to closing?

@Nathalie Hirsch There are certain 'safe harbors' and guidance from the IRS in connection with vacation home rentals.The IRS will not challenge whether a dwelling unit qualifies as §1031 exchange property held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment if: (1) the relinquished property is owned by the taxpayer for at least 24 months immediately prior to the exchange and a replacement property is owned for at least 24 months immediately after the exchange (the “qualifying use period”) and (2) within each of the two 12 month periods constituting the qualifying use period, the taxpayer must: (a) Rent the property to another person or persons at a fair rental for 14 or more days; and(b) The taxpayer’s personal use of the dwelling unit cannot exceed the greater of 14 days or 10 percent of the number of days during the 12 month period the dwelling unit is rented at a fair rental.

It looked just like this onehttp://www.auction.com/California/residential-auction-asset/1725464-11251-5590-MARYSVILLE-ROAD-BROWNS-VALLEY-CA-95918-O459I also do not know who is occupying the place, auction.com was unwilling to provide that info prior to my bidding.

Despite having a cleaning crew come through and brand new carpet/padding installed, drapes removed, AC filter replaced, it still has an odor that was not there prior.

The devil is in the details. if it is a tax  foreclosure auction the prior agreements are likely wiped out.

Besides, given your prior experience, you would probably do very will at the entry level (under $100k, purchase and rehab) flip game.My (conservative) view is not a popular one here on BP.

He has been advised that if he farms the land for the 2 years prior to selling, and his farm earnings are more than his personal income, then he can avoid the capitals gains tax, he more or less needs a good accountant to organize the whole deal and who might have some recommendations on how to structure everything.Thank you in advance for any tips/feedback!