Here is the situation / story: After winning the property I paid for an in depth title research (yes I know this should be done ahead of time but often there is not enough time to do it before hand. so lets not discuss that aspect of it here.)  

Due to the company I work for being sold we will be getting a fairly nice retention bonus, I'm thinking of using this as seed money to start investing in real estate.

@James W. - in general, you shouldn't automatically assume short sales are a great deal these days.

No exceptions.When you raise your hand you win you need to give them your name and cashiers cheques.

If you are the winning bidder, you have to pay cash that very day.There may be some opportunities at Utah tax auctions but do the research and be sure what you are buying!

If more of the people I have sued would have lawyered up from the start, my win-lose ratio would probably take a significant hit.

A win is a win.  

Anything in between those numbers is a win and you take the deal. 

Once I know exactly who I am going to pursue, I will do them all at once so that the "hard" credit inquiries they all run show up w/in 14 days of each other to minimize the credit hit I will take.Any advice on lending, both local and general, would be much appreciated!

Helen Keller"The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand."