My parents eventually made "millionaire" status on real estate investments.
And you're 100% right.
The reason my parents did well is that:
a) Few people (at the time) knew about tax and bank auctions
b) At the time both kinds of auctions required that you show up and pay in cash equivalent. They had a worker's comp settlement that allowed them to invest in properties where others didn't have the cash. Now banks tend to let you finance REO properties.
c) My dad was a competent home inspector/contractor who could tell (within reasonable margin of error) if a house was a good deal, and could do the work himself to fix it up
d) It was the Right Time to be investing in their geographical area
So yes, it's possible to do something like this, but for the most part you need to have access to a source of properties that is not already being shopped by a ton of competitors, have access to a building inspection skillset (or pay $400+ per property you inspect), have access to inexpensive contractors (or they'll eat up your profit), and to a certain extent, you need to be lucky and invest in the right market at the right time.
Though I have to say that I'm now investing in real estate, based on my own observations of the area I live now, but I'm not taking a buy-and-flip approach. Instead I'm trying buy-and-make-12%-ROI-on-rent. The rental market is extremely tight here. But it's not going to make me a millionaire in a year.
And you're 100% right.
The reason my parents did well is that:
a) Few people (at the time) knew about tax and bank auctions
b) At the time both kinds of auctions required that you show up and pay in cash equivalent. They had a worker's comp settlement that allowed them to invest in properties where others didn't have the cash. Now banks tend to let you finance REO properties.
c) My dad was a competent home inspector/contractor who could tell (within reasonable margin of error) if a house was a good deal, and could do the work himself to fix it up
d) It was the Right Time to be investing in their geographical area
So yes, it's possible to do something like this, but for the most part you need to have access to a source of properties that is not already being shopped by a ton of competitors, have access to a building inspection skillset (or pay $400+ per property you inspect), have access to inexpensive contractors (or they'll eat up your profit), and to a certain extent, you need to be lucky and invest in the right market at the right time.