The locals are in these REIAs  know where the good / bad / higher performing areas are.  

you can always cancel if he gives you the full rent payment.start the process, and keep it in motion until he has performed. 

There is a big difference between a loss on your schedule e vs how the property is performing from a lender's point of view(due to depreciation).

Hard Money still costs you money and if you can't perform, they get the house.

Try this scenario:You offer for sale w/o a contract or titlea buyer makes the as-is offer all cash for your priceyou accept and take the Earnest Money Deposit (forming a legal contract)30 days later, you still can't get the property under contractThe buyer now sues for Specific Performance (aka forcing the purchase) but you don't have the contract or title.That's FRAUD buddy.

@Nicole MichaelYou should always perform a title search before the auction.

Meanwhile, for the sponsor, the 8% payments commence within 30-60 days of closing on the property...regardless of the property's actual performance.

I pick up rent in person, perform all repairs (that I can) myself and try to build rapport with my tenants.

@Anthony Dooley while I agree with you in principle and always get a kick out of sellers asking to be paid for value they have not created, if there is enough value add and you are confident that you can actually capture the value add, that becomes the justification for 'over paying' on existing performance.

I company buys 1st lien non-performing notes.