Any suggestions on how to contact/track down owners to try and buy the house, whether short sale or trying to find a contact at a bank before they send it to auction?

An old guy @ the Tax Lien auction Saturday just picked up a nice 1/2 acre SFH building lot with all utilities @ the road for $5k.

I wouldn't worry about if it only sold for $1000 more, because you don't know what it would have sold for if your offer was $1001 more.Have you ever been to an auction and seen someone that had "hit their number", but then someone else bids just $1 higher and they say "well shoot it's just $1".

Is it worth it to pay for an inspection up front (it's being sold as-is via auction unless I can get an offer approved prior to the auction)?

maybe call an auctioneer??

It will also let you know how motivated the seller really is or if the seller is fishing for someone willing to pay top dollar for a property that may be more challenging to sell - and therefore, attracts fewer buyers.It is my philosophy to not auction my real estate, nor do I bid on property being sold.

The owner must be keeping it somehow because it doesn't actually auction on the listed date.

One property is a day-to-day auction.

I'm considering using an auction to move it but a little worried about marketing cost.Would you be excited about the equity if i presented this to you?

1) you have very little to fear with an IRS lien in a foreclosure auction, assuming the mortgage was recorded prior to the lien(usually true because the lender wouldn't grant the mortgage with a primer IRS lien).