I bought almost 20 new 1400sf townhomes in Clayton County for $25K-$40K until the deal suddenly dried up last year.

Most motivated sellers are looking for cash not someone wanting to put their home under contract and leave then high and dry.

When she let the propane tank run dry the first time, did you restate that it is her responsibility to keep the propane tank filled?

Have Arizona and California deals dried up?

This sounds to me like a normal deal in lots of the "up and coming" dc neighborhoods like Columbia Heights (full disclosure this is where my house is), H st, Adams Morgan (although I think we can all agree adams morgan is never going to actually get out of the up and coming phase), etc.TL;DR I would bet this is legit.

The home can be installed many way (tied down, stem wall, piers) and is built to the HUD code (which is actually harder than conventional built homes - must withstand wind gusts (speed based on area) for up to 3minutes straight where conventional is 3 second bursts (like a hurricane with asthma)).Once tied down, the home is overseen by DMV unless you pay to turn it into Real Property.A Modular Home is built to DCA code (same as a stick built home) and is usually removed from the metal frame it is shipped on.

Net result is that now when I have a deal, it's usually sold before the ink on the contract is dry.

They will drain you dry when your tenant stiffs you on payment and you are left paying the mortgage you promised you would pay from your seller.

In many markets around the country the cycles have shifted and no money down type arrangements have dried up.

So, it will likely solve your first problem (keeping the basement dry), but it won't solve your second problem (keeping the wall from bowing/cracking.In order to keep the wall from bowing/cracking, your two options are to install exterior drain tile and/or to brace the wall with steel columns or plates.