I prefer to piggy back off investors with many years of experience in this space than starting from scratch. 

@Woralak Bryant, be careful about shutting off utilities.

I was thinking of writing in my lease something to the affect of "ceiling fans were left here from previous renter, landlord will not replace/maintain ceiling fans. 

The home owner has listed the house at 140k, as they do owe 2 years worth of taxes and are eager to sell. 

A lot of people are fearful right now.I'm just over the hill in Reno, NV and chose to live and invest here because our property taxes do not reassess on the sale, landlord/tenant laws are much more favorable, and there is steady job and population growth, but we're still very close to the benefits of CA. 

Initially, I was apprehensive about paying for utilities, but it has been easy to budget since the units are smaller.Overall, it's much less stressful and more hands-off when tenants manage their own utilities.

Thank you.I strongly recommend The Hands-Off Investor: An Insider’s Guide to Investing in Passive Real Estate Syndications, by Brian Burke.He also is active here on BiggerPockets: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/cirrusav8or.

We have to go off of what the background/credit check says. 

Then another guy bids $50k straight off.

It sounds like you’re off to a fun start—just remember, when it comes to your first acquisition, don’t let it go to “foreclosure” or you might find yourself in a “rehab” situation!