One block can be a no go and 2 blocks over can be ok to invest in.

As @Benjamin Weinhart mentioned, there are some potential stumbling blocks with trying to drag out the sale until parents pass away. 

It's in a desirable low vacancy, high demand location that happens to be in a mixed commercial / residential semi-neglected but very safe area 2 blocks off a major shopping street. 

Once recorded, the owner/seller of the property will not be able to close on the property without addressing this issue, thereby blocking them from cutting you out and selling to another party.Other than that, keep in mind it is VERY difficult to win in court for specific performance to force the seller to sell.Good luck, and keep moving forward!

To provide a bit more context:- the first floor is a parking garage with concrete block walls and stucco siding- the second floor - the first habitable floor) is having significant water seep into the back wall (stick framing, stucco siding).

As a local investor in San Diego myself who used to invest in the Midwest...the low prices can be very enticing but make sure you really know the market first and what you are getting into before pulling the trigger...when you are out of state you are at a disadvantage as properties can differ quite heavily from block to block. 

Apparently, because this was auctioning taxes not paid in the first years prior to the financial crisis, there were more properties on the block than ever before in Franklin County - over 40. 

I've got the dates blocked and my airline ticket purchased! 

The property was in a major commercial area, one block away from a mall. 

Even then I would try to be half a block off Belair Rd but I have managed properties in that area and have not had many issues there.