A few people were skeptical of the lowest bid of $150k and warned us not to do it.

Thanks again for the advice and warning.

Nobody is telling you how to run your rentals - we are warning others who might read and agree with you of the legal jeopardy they are being exposed to.The law has determined that a Sheriff in Arizona can't do it with a badge why do you think the law is going to let a landlord do it with a house.

I have never heard of them, but I know that I have seen many, many warnings about any company that asks you to send money ahead of time.

This would not grab my trust right off...I say pass and thank that beautiful waving red flag for the warning.

A title company is not involved in the transaction, but it is highly advisable to get a thorough title search done in advance to warn of any other liens, etc.  

i will try again here:to be fair, i think it's perfectly acceptable to offer a counter opinion and a bit of a warning to a newbie investor who is asking for honest and unbiased advice (which was the beginning of this post).  

I picked up this thread in each of your posts talking about: "funds, when I have enough" I would warn you not to rush to purchasing something right when you have funds to buy, tenant occupied or not.  

I almost purchased a fairly new fourplex there a few years back, but local residents warned me that the market depends heavily on Lockheed Martin for jobs, and one big layoff could devastate demand there.

Our realtor also warned us that studios are hard to sell and don't hold as much value as a 1+ bedroom condos.