Likely though you will need to professionally clean any soft surfaces such as carpet, draperies, or furniture.

Got a soft LOI for $49mAll my buildings have appreciated a ton -- but I've also got to enjoy a ton of cash flow from them in the meantime. 

"pain and suffering", "future loss of enjoyment", "rehabilitation for the injuries" - 20 visits to the chiropractor who would need x-rays, MRI's to make sure there is no soft tissue damage, who the heck knows?!?

Proof of funds whether it’s hard or soft approval has been a huge challenge for me

If your demo, soft and build costs are another $200k, then the total cost is $250k, they would lend up to $187.5, which would require you to put up the other $12.5k in addition to your original purchase of $50k.  

I just closed on a 2800 soft, 4/2, 3 car garage on a big corner lot in the Avalon part of Pittsburgh.

To avoid plumbing and water damage, check for spots on the walls and floors that look discolored or warped and feel to see if they’re soft or mushy.

Like others have said, Lawrence is a pretty big area so I'm kind of painting with a broad brush. 

The other route would be to stick to distressed assets and reposition them, take them down with soft-hard money and refinance later.

It allows you to include the purchase price + rehab costs + soft costs into one mortgage.