So I found a person trying to sell a property on craigslist in a smaller town about an hour away. 

He said he will email me photos, but as of yet I have not seen any.  The property seem undervalued even if I bulldoze the house and start over (the seller said there is no kitchen so I may have to do that).  

Its within 5 mins of a university and rents in the area range from ~$700 -$1,400 per month. for homes in good repair.  I wanted to try and talk with him to get a better idea of what he is selling and see if its worth my time to push forward.  The seller has offered to finance at 7.5%

I contacted to seller to ask questions and get a feel for his need to sell but he is only dealing with me via Email, and I still only know the cross streets.

I asked him in my last email about the Lot size, the Address, if the are any back taxes, if he is the owner or someone selling for the owner.....

Questions:

If I am able to talk with this gentle man on the phone, what do I ask him?

What are the important items that I need to be known before I go forward?

Is there a way to validate info like back taxes, liens, other issues that may be attached to the property that would prevent me from taking over?

How should I go about doing a valuation on the property independently from him to see if the deal makes sense?

Thanks for your help.  I am a newb, I have looked around but became very overwhelmed by the amount of information on all this stuff.