He currently has the property set up in a transfer on death deed. 

It's a fast market right now and others on BP have said  that particularly in the south and east coast it can take a couple of months for property transfers to record.  

I do a lot of relocation business with Lockheed as a Realtor®, lots of transfers in and out!

@Bruce Lynn, while I am guessing because I don't know "most" large multifamily, I would say it is very much manager dependent and likely to become more common place as many syndicators are struggling to make their mortgage payments.Ownership companies are still run by people, and people that don't have enough money to pay their bills will start prioritizing who to pay based on the perceived risks of not paying.As for taking over any outstanding bills, that is one of many issues of the common LLC transfer.  

The more property you inspect, the more of an expert you will become in your area.Once you feel comfortable with inspecting properties, learning the right questions to ask, understanding your local market, and HOW to evaluate each potential deal, THEN you will know a good opportunity when you stumble upon it.You can transfer those skills into looking at other markets and will have some clues as to what makes a good deal.

Look for a small/mid size local bank that specializes in this, they will detail what you need, survey, building permit, architectural plans and a builder contracted for starters.Or when you're ready to subdivide/redevelop you just sell to a builder and have them split the lots and transfer title to you for your smaller lot, he keeps the others and let him mess with the utilities and building. 

They have called and spoke to someone who then transfer them to someone else and they have left so many voicemails.

Legacy Title Agency is putting the top notch screen on these transfers for those investing in the city , however I will also share with you there are several title companies locally that the policies they issue aren't considered "good" by the big underwriters.  

Thanks for jumping into this @Jay Hinrichs- My CPA assures me that by retaining title (not transferring it to the partnership) I can enjoy cap gains on the land profits portion.- All the costs you list are in the $2M. 

I don't like family transfers unless they are a flat-out gift, but they can be advantageous.