Other methods are to purchase lists with different motivations and stack them  like absentee owners, 60-90-120 days late on mortgage, pre-foreclosure, delinquent taxes, water cutoff, code violation, evictions, probate, divorce, etc.

I'm interested in learning about foreclosures, lease-options for now , but open to other areas of earning Realestate.

. - Get Help With Foreclosure In Cypress

Are those before tax, are you buying foreclosures/fixer uppers?

Also, not sure if this is a market thing but I buy VA foreclosures and the bidding period is fixed for a longer period than regular foreclosures.

If it was a foreclosure, it sounds like you have both a bank and Realtor possibly involved?

I earned my down payments by fixing and flipping foreclosures.  

Is the public notice of the foreclosure considered adequate 'notice' to the IRS?

You won't get any kind of financing for the foreclosure auctions, simply not enough time.  

@David WurzelTypically a land contract is beneficial for the lender / buyer of said land contract on secondary market in judicial states.In non judicial states it makes no sense for using a land contract because to get the property back typically takes longer and is as expensive as a foreclosure.