Typically on a foreclosure auction its cash-only, obvs, but since this was not a foreclosure and a state-owned property that has no leins, they couldn't give me an answer.Does anyone have any experience with this type of thing?

Just using the "50%" rule, you can expect to continue to pay around $1250 per month on average over the life of the property in those types of expenses. 

I have a hard time getting $1,400/month on that type of place.

Virtually any time you are acquiring a property that is not ready to move in or rent, you need some type of construction financing. 

The after-closing VA repairs were paint/carpet/woodtrim type stuff.

I think it depends on the property type, condition, market you’re in, and type of tenants the property gets.

The money-side will definitely be at the top of my list of research - I love all your money-finance-type resources.

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I believe this is called the pre-foreclosure phase and I want to know if any of you have experience with this type of home purchase?