Are there any common overlays you have dealt with?

How long are the gaps of employment?

:In PA, and in other states, auctions can mean different things.There are private auctions where I just choose to sell my home in an auction scenario (I actually think this is pretty common in Australia - maybe someone from Oz and chime in on that).Auctions can also refer to the compelled or forced sale of a property by the State/County for various reasons.I assume you are asking about the 2 most common forced sales - foreclosures (failure to pay your mortgage, bank sues and the Sherriff sells your home to satisfy the bank) and tax sales (failure to pay your taxes and the State/County sells your home to satisfy your tax bill).I have not participated in the PA foreclosure and tax sale business in 20 years, so things may have changed, but if someone here is more up to date maybe they can correct my answer with new info.Both types of sales have their own areas of risk that you need to educate yourself on.Value is a top issue - you need to know how much the home is really worth before you get into any of the below. 

Check your state laws of course, but that would be the common underlying principle I believe.

Not sure how familiar you are with the area, but there is a state college right up the road (Bloomsburg University) and a very big hospital (Geisinger) that employs much of the area nearby too.

Thank You Account Closed for breaking that down for us common folk.

I asked my realtor and he said that's actually fairly common.

I would use common sense.

Unfortunately our rural towns have been dying since the 50s/60s - which is sad as there are lots of cool and fascinating places - but it all happens slowly - first a large employer leaves, or maybe there's a farming crisis, tax revenue decreases, then folks with younger kids move away or the younger kids grow up then they immediately leave then never come back, then the schools start to die, then the schools close, then no one wants to live there, then the local hospitals or clinics lose fed or state funds then they close, their workers leave etc. 

@Joe CasizHere’s some sources for market researchZillow and Redfin for historical sales dataDriving the neighborhoods and attending open houses The US census for income and employment data etcMunicipal website for list of employers