Very good points… The scariest thing of all is that the private parties that do make bids are REALLY well connected. They have done diligent research on the homes, title searches, investigated everything etc… Again, it is useful stuff to learn, but honestly I wouldn’t do it personally, I am just to intimidated and would wait until it went REO and buy it then.
One thing I would recommend would be to try to contact the distressed seller right after the notice of default is issued and try to negotiate a deal directly with them.