Two weeks prior to auction, this house looked like a wreck from the street. The grass hadn't been mowed in a year and trash was piled up from the driveway to the front door. Five days before the auction the HOA came in and cleaned up the trash and mowed the jungle. The only person bidding against me didn't drive by the property until two days before the auction so he saw it in its new sparkly shiny improved condition. Had the HOA not worked their magic, he likely would have considered the property vacant and perhaps peeked in the window to see this....

My guess is that he wouldn't have been very excited to bid and I could have bought it at opening bid... Damn HOA!!!