I have seen some exceptions with bigger lenders.

I found the son on Facebook and sent a quick intro giving my condolences, expressed my interest in purchasing the property, and provided my phone # in case he decides to follow up.I'm in the process of preapproval with a couple lenders, and have reached out to a couple realtors in my area to see which may be a good fit.

In any disputed court action where the court resolves the dispute and determines the prevailing party, the court shall also award to the prevailing party its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs and the non-prevailing party shall be liable to the prevailing party for payment of any court awarded attorneys’ fees and costs.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I just spoke with a lender who is also an investor and trying to get rid of his condos.

The School of Hard Knocks is the best education, but if your company will pay for it, I would go with an MBA for future (non-RE) career development.

So even if you had a buy out agreement negotiated up front and execute that buy out agreement, the bank would still require him to be guarantor unless something drastic changed on your side financially.The best scenario here would be to purchase and rehab the property using a hard money lender or bridge lender.  

Since you invest in Philly and the surrounding counties, do you have any go-to agents, lenders, or contractors you’ve had good experiences with?

The owner was motivated due to personal circumstances and wanted to avoid the hassle of listing the property publicly.

The best thing you can do is to get in touch with a few lenders and walk through your specific scenario.