In the meantime she wasn't pulling the permits she said she was pulling and when she did finally pull them, she pulled them fraudulently under a different contractor's license.  

I wouldn't gamble on a gutted house unless I was planning on fixing a good portion of it myself and if the house was in a decent area otherwise I look for houses that have at least electrical, plumbing, a decent roof, and most the drywall in tact.

Over 6 months it's likely to be minuscule and not worth the gamble.

Well I did some digging on whitepages, and bingo I was able to find the sister in law, and cold called her (a first lol)Sister in law, really wanted nothing to do with the house and stated that the sister in law had a gambling problem and that the house was worth nothing because of the money owned to the casinos.

It's a sort of a gamble still because the economy is mostly bolstered by State employees, and prices are relatively high still for decent properties.

A mechanics lien is not the end of the world, particularly if it's a "fraudulent" or unwarranted lien, as there are penalties for that.

Provide what they ask but don't provide any fraudulent info.Joe Gore

Anything less is gambling not investing.

It's a bit of a gamble, but can save you money if you find the right deal.Good luck!

I'd say to get the best value is still a gamble and it's to use their service and sell in a few years before any CapX comes due and sell at the full market 50k-55k.