Bidders need to factor obtaining possession post-sale as well as unknown condition into their numbers. 

Actually the tenants have 7 days to respond once they are served the Demand for Possession for Non Payment of Rent by the landlord. 

I have a budget that is down to the dollar now and my personal budget vs conservative expected once I take possession on the 1st.

The tenant provide me with 2 months rent before I took possession of the property. 

Particularly you need the Builder's Risk Insurance in case there is an incident during the construction process.You can ask your contractor what insurance they carry and require of you the owner to possess, and also ask a local insurance broker what they see others doing in purchasing a home in cash.

You actually lucked out in not taking possession of the property and the liens.

They have no interest in taking calls and negotiating directly with a bunch of investors on every individual REO they take possession of.Your first chance was probably buying at the county Sheriff's foreclosure auction, or however they auction off foreclosed properties in your area prior to the bank taking possession.

If the house is vacant try to get possession immediately so that you can show it to assignees or tenants. 

He had to go through a bit of a process and should have possession of his property within weeks.

On the same day that we got possession of 6.5 acres of undeveloped land, we also secured a contract on our first buy and hold rental.