I'm interested in investing in a short term rental the Somoma County market.

How can i delay or stop this auction, so that I can get the property marketed for a higher price?

I guess it depends on your market. 

What market are you in, what is the age of the asset?

I am married but my husband is clearly not interested, or never thinks it's the right time, (market, elections, not enough time etc), honestly I think he's just afraid.

I'm frankly surprised at how robust the market has remained.

Also, you don't have to be physically present/so close to self-manage. 

And, even if you could find an appraiser to do an evaluation, it's not clear how that would help you.As you state, the motel has been shut down for nearly three years, so there's no current financial data.But even if you had recent numbers, you're planning to operate it as a sober living facility, which I suspect is a very different business model.You need to find a comparable facility in or near your local market and develop your own customized financial analysis model based upon this particular property.Then, given your business objectives (cash flow and cash-on-cash return, I assume), you'll need to back into what purchase terms you'll need to achieve those objectives.Only then will you be able to determine whether these seller financing terms will work.As far as documentation to get started, a letter of intent (LOI) is commonly used but you might move straight to a purchase and sale agreement, particularly if no agent is involved.Whichever path you choose, just be certain to give yourself plenty of time to thoroughly perform your due-diligence.

Look at their marketing strategy.

You may want to wait until the market cools off a bit.