The homeowner approached the court to sell it because he was done with the entire process, so they ordered it to be auctioned.

This will help you decide how to approach the investing side.

Hi Nicholas, Just want to thank you for starting this thread because I also am a newbie and I'm thinking along the same lines as you are as to my approach to getting into REI.I'm very pleased to see the incredible amount of response you've gotten on this forum and am encouraged by the other members here.I am curious and would like to ask the others if there is a REI club in the Tampa Bay area?

Here are some of the key stats:Purchase Price: $2.8MUnits: 100Unit Mix:50 3bed/2bath's @ $580/month50 2bed/2's @ $425/monthFinancing Approach:80% Bank20% 10% down payment10% seller financing @5% with a 5 year balloonConservative Annual Financials Financials:-15% vacancy-Rent potential: $618,000-Property Taxes: $30,000-Insurance: $21,000-Maintenance / Repairs: $60,000-Water / Utilities: $68,000-Advertising: $4,500-Property Management: $52,530 (management fee and employee salaries)-Garbage and Recycling: $15,000-Landscaping / Pest Control: $18,000-Security: $5,000In summary:-$525,300 gross income-$273,030 total expenses-$177,396 (5%) annual mortgageoFirst 5 years: Seller financing repayment on 10% of purchase price @ 5% interest rateOpportunities:-Sub metered, but water is covered by current owner (~$55k)-Increase rent on 2/2's to $485We would love to hear your thoughts on the good, the bad, and the things we haven't considered or simply answer any questions that you have.

I suppose the smart approach is to shut-up & get on with completing the mod-package asap so as to get the process started.

I would approach it as a math problem:1).

@Alec Saenz,Check the local government tax assesor's website to see if you can find out more information about the property, maybe even the owner's name.If you can get the owner information, you can take the approach of sending a handwritten letter asking the owner if he/she is willing to sell the house. 

How do you approach a house you’re going to live in.We are getting ready to bid on a property that instead of renting we are thinking about living in for a few year (5-7).It will be a rental till my husband retires form the military (2 yr) and then may become a rental if we move on.The house is in a good location.The neighborhood is older, but the homes are being revived.

NoOhio Revised Code4735.01 Real estate broker definitions.As used in this chapter:(A) "Real estate broker" includes any person, partnership, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or corporation, foreign or domestic, who for another, whether pursuant to a power of attorney or otherwise, and who for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, or with the intention, or in the expectation, or upon the promise of receiving or collecting a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration does any of the following:(1) Sells, exchanges, purchases, rents, or leases, or negotiates the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of any real estate;(2) Offers, attempts, or agrees to negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of any real estate;(3) Lists, or offers, attempts, or agrees to list, or auctions, or offers, attempts, or agrees to auction, any real estate;(4) Buys or offers to buy, sells or offers to sell, or otherwise deals in options on real estate;(5) Operates, manages, or rents, or offers or attempts to operate, manage, or rent, other than as custodian, caretaker, or janitor, any building or portions of buildings to the public as tenants;(6) Advertises or holds self out as engaged in the business of selling, exchanging, purchasing, renting, or leasing real estate;(7) Directs or assists in the procuring of prospects or the negotiation of any transaction, other than mortgage financing, which does or is calculated to result in the sale, exchange, leasing, or renting of any real estate;(8) Is engaged in the business of charging an advance fee or contracting for collection of a fee in connection with any contract whereby the broker undertakes primarily to promote the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of real estate through its listing in a publication issued primarily for such purpose, or for referral of information concerning such real estate to brokers, or both, except that this division does not apply to a publisher of listings or compilations of sales of real estate by their owners;(9) Collects rental information for purposes of referring prospective tenants to rental units or locations of such units and charges the prospective tenants a fee.

@Ryan Toth  my arrival to Charleston was quite by accident but it did not take a 2 by four to the head to figure out what was going on.I was first approached with doing 4  fix and flip short term loans.. form one of my very OLD time clients of 15 years..