Personally, I like it, especially with the lawn care, because the properties look better with our professional crew and are cut and trimmed on a regular basis, which is easier on the lawn.  

That being said, should I decide to invest out of state in the future I do think it's something I will take into consideration, as quality of living in any given city will directly affect the income an investment can produce and the general tenant pool for a given area.  

My goal is to accumulate income generating assets producing me $20k per month in income.

The auction will just be like a regular auction.

And since you're renting out part of the regular living space you probably haven't dedicated that portion as investment on your tax return. 

.* Create a spreadsheet that is regularly updated with Home Depot Pricing, then when you look at the house, you can plug in quantity of things you need, to estimate repair costs.

Do we get a HELOC on our current home, and then use that as the 25% down payments and then use regular mortgages loans for investments properties, so we can get multiple properties over the years?  

These assets qualify for 100% bonus depreciation as well as regular depreciation and section 179 expense rules.

You'll want to find someone who works with investors and understands the kind of pricing an investor needs vs a regular homeowner who'll pay 50k to redo a kitchen.Also, try joining local real estate Facebook groups and ask for references there as well.

In CA, you can't charge more than 10% without using a broker to arrange the financing.In my opinion, people should use seller financing in cases where the property is not easily financed to regular buyer or they really want to hold the note for cash flow.