Had you take the money and invested it in some unknown market back then, where do you think you would be now?

I have determined my max bid, but have reservations because of the unknown oil tank risk.

The initial closing was not established since a lien had been noted by the lawyer for seller  (unknown by anyone from 30 years ago).

Unknown odor under home. 

In general, it's also a relatively small "peace of mind" cost for unknown mishaps (HVAC, plumbing, etc).Here's an example from Fidelity that I'm looking to switch to after my currently warranty expires. https://www.homewarranty.com/professional/applicat...I consider the home warranty a fixed capexp cost to me versus an unknown, unpredictable, and variable capexp.  

I would pass as a first time investor - you might find surprises in rehab and get too close to the ARV.Too many unknowns, imho.

You'll just have to evict "Any Unknown Tenants in Possession".  

I was talking to him about holding and to continue renting it but unknown to me he talked with another friend and he decided to list.

For example - nobody's quite sure what will happen with Greece and portugal (unstable, recession end date unknown), and are mostly certain the USA will someday bounce back (normally stable, temporarily recessed but with high recovery potential).

The only unknown so far is the inspection of the property and issues after the current tenant leaves.