I do have a quick question for anyone who has thoughts.

Is it relatively safe to be looking at most houses in those 4 places or is it a street-to-street or block-to-block situation where one street is great for investment and the next one is a war zone?

It used to feel "too expensvie but still safe", now it feels "too expensive and unsafe to buy"....You are now paying $2000 a month to rent... if you buy now, I am just guessing, you will be paying $5000 for the same condo that you are currently living in....Why pay $3000 more to hold an asset that is flat at the best, possibly going down?

Not sure of the condition yet, but I'll want to sell it quick.

, security cameras, moisture sensors etc might pay off) a quick call to your insurance agent to ask for a list of things that will reduce your premium is usually worthwhile.

I see other properties on the market that don't really need anything and would rent out quickly.

You will quickly realize after that, those that are or are not worth putting into the spreadsheet.

I quickly learned early on that straight rentals in my market was a non-starter, the price to rent ratio just didn't make any sense and it's only gotten worse over the years.An average home in my market is about $550k now but will only rent for $2k.

Strong rental demand in the area, its safe, and would provide good cash flow for years to come. 

A hard money lender who works with auctions should be able to get you funded very quickly if you have set things up with them beforehand.