The same can be said for old wooden cabinetry versus modern, foil faced or veneered MDF.

I have been racking my mind!!!

If you are not close then no sense to rack up attorneys fees.Remember a lot of attorneys work on billable hours so some love to rack up fees.

It needs a lot of work, floors need to be replaced, the roof leaks, and outside wooden walls are rotten around the bottom. 

My goal is to pay for any scouting or signing trips with just rewards points in 2018.I would imagine that you can really rack up points and/or churn through signup bonuses if you charge major purchases and expenses through rewards cards and then pay them off immediately.

Your going to rack up legal bills defending higher than the judgement.

I'm worried though that if I rack my HELOC up to 90% it's going to drop my FICO quite drastically.

It goes back on the market, racking up more days on market.In the meantime, the seller most likely has another property under agreement, so he's under pressure to accept an inferior offer.This $0 down buyer has really screwed the seller.Not saying that you shouldn't go with $0 down. 

After someone takes over taxes from a tax sale, they charge interest and a bill racks up.

If it happens to you, it is a disaster.Ongoing maintenance cost - When I owned properties in Atlanta, Houston and other places, I was always replacing roofs, siding, wooden windows, dealing with termites and the landscaping.