I married another ex-pat, who brought a small property to the marriage; 10 acres along HW 40 near the Painted Desert National Park.

But the bottom line after 25 years of marriage is that I was suddenly $300K in debt after being completely debt-free 9 months before we separated.  

A team is valuable and a great asset but it can be like a marriage.

Back when California didn't have gay marriage I was slipping some LGBT "domestic partners" through the cracks and the VA would go for that, but that doesn't sound like your scenario at all. 

*Keep in mind that trying to get out of a bad partnership can be more difficult than getting out of a bad marriage.  

Even if the person living there now (a relative by marriage, currently squatting) paid the back-taxes they would only have three years under their belt.

I will be celebrating my 10th year of marriage this October and have two beautiful daughters (6 and 3) that bring joy to my life. 

If you need your partner involved, I would highly suggest waiting till after the marriage is official to close. 

Going to see my daughter from a previous marriage and visit family but also going to be double dipping and looking at properties while I'm there.

I suppose my medium goal is to get as much done as possible before life gets to me (kids, marriage, etc.) because I feel like at that point, I will not have as much liberty to take risks.