Which means to me that Zillow is cracking down on people hunting for arbitrage on its platform.Consider that, and other potential barriers, when assessing your marketing tools.

In my experience, most properties that go to auction end up overpriced so I'd be prepared to attend a LOT in order to get something that worked on paper.When I attended my first market auction with an experienced agent the advice he gave me was to figure out my maximum beforehand and stick to it (Seems obvious but people get caught up in winning).

Some people are able to save money and budget and others are not really good at it.

That is dissapointing that they did not vet the people they would be spending hours and hours touring properties.

But wanted to ask here what other people have done or if you have any ideas.

Definitely looking to continue building my network and meeting new people and continue learning and growing. 

When that area was built, people flocked to it for it's affordability, but over the course of several years, it became like a ghost town. 

I have not done it myself, but have helped some people with financing.

Quote from @Chris Seveney: @Charlene Kingsnorth have you had an sec attorney also review what you are doing as if you're are having multiple people as part of a loan participating in it depending on the state this could get you in hot water - so be careful  good point Chris some state allow fractionalized deed of Trust mortgages other do not or require PPM like documents prior to offering them..

If enough people reach out, eventually it would be great to start a meetup group for STR investors in the area.