We are going to spend about 20K to bring it up to par but defiantly worth it. 

You should always protect your position, make sure everything is in writing, and don’t hesitate to explore the full value of your deals by marketing to other buyers.

With some of my clients, I've seen discounts of 30% to 90%.Here is a real-life example: I invested in a $50K note; it was second TD but with significant equity (over $200K) protecting my investment.

He is well protected I'm sure.

Many newcomers spend their first few years working under a sponsoring broker, and during that period, the broker often earns a significant portion of the revenue.

gotta echo the sentiment for spending some time on the ground even if a small amount on the front end. 

I think this gives me good asset protection and allows me to take advantage of leverage. 

So you each spend a few grand on a mediator and then work it out.

You're going to have to spend a bit of time researching markets but I think picking a market you like to visit is always good. every vacation becomes a write off! 

And yes this is a 1 in 1000 situation but plenty of other disasters could happen and having the right insurance policy is huge to protecting down side risk.