@Collin Brown, IRS Publication 523 addresses this quite nicely - Vacant land next to home. 

It sounds expensive, but perhaps the property falls under certain requirements, including interconnecting the detectors.Maybe this can shine some light:https://wbcapp.oaklandnet.com/cs/groups/public/documents/translateddocument/b3dk/mdaz/~edisp/dowd003911.pdf

Whether a property is listed publicly or privately doesn't automatically make it a bad/good deal, it just affects the visibility of the deal and more importantly: how motivated the seller is. 

Property tax is public record, you can look up a neighbor's property.Ask a neighbor about their utility costs.Call an insurance broker and get a quote based on your build specs.

You think he's in the public eye, and can't afford to screw people.  

IRS Publication 537 outlines installment sales (seller financing), which, depending on the seller's individual circumstances, can defer and sometimes reduce the amount of capital gain tax owed. 

So, IF the agency is working in the public interest, we would want them to exercise broad interpretations of a given law.

It is not for use for the general public.

I am fully educated on what's public online/and how to access that easily, and I'm looking around for subscription/pay options that offer more "actual raw data" (on deeds, history, leins and public records) than the county sites, basically.Research--for anything I identify as potentially interesting.

We have access to all public records in Illinois and Indiana and thus do not have to pay fees for tools and apps other investors use for access to those records.