I can take advantage of it being a buyers market and use my FHA LOAN to ask for a full 6% seller concession on top of my 3% agent commissions essentially allowing me to walk into the property with $0 out of pocket.

Finding private money lenders out side of that takes time as you need to build your relationship with them so that they know, like and trust you AND they know you have experience in real estate.

You get a place to live in yourself, tenants/roommates pay your mortgage and help you build equity, and you can purchase it as a primary residence and potentially only have to put 3%-3.5% down since you would be a first time home buyer. 

On top of the fact that values and rents rise during the time you own the property.....refinancing, or snowballing payments can bring your payments down on top of it.  

Bigger Pockets is a great place for education and networking and is full of great content.I recommend that you check out the following resources:1.

You mentioned timing being one you may have less of in the future, and that's a big reason investors will turn their property over to a professional PM.

If the landlord has three bills and they show a significant drop in use around the time the home froze, that would indicate the heat wasn't being used.

Can someone tell me if this is correct: if the owner redeems they have to pay the full bid price, fees and court costs, 10% interest, and any “necessary” repairs (what constitutes that)?

I personally did not use an assumption company to assist with the transaction, but that is an option if you encounter a lender who is not too thrilled about helping you through the process.I was able to assume a loan with a 3% rate during a time when rates where in the high 7's! 

Don't worry about finding him - he'll ask you 4 times before you leave if you want to buy his book.