Would it be good to partner with her (her credit is outstanding)?  

Bigger Pockets- Bigger Pockets is an outstanding way to find and network with cash buyers.

Tax liens are senior to other liens including mortgage liens, meaning that if a property is foreclosed upon and sold at auction to a third party bidder the proceeds from that sale would go first to pay off any outstanding tax lien before paying off any of the mortgage loans. 

I know what my cash means to the land lord and so theres a mutual respect there where as an impersonal environment of a huge complex chases away whatever fleeting feeling of home they attempt to replicate. 

(We will take notes on color/material combinations and kitchen arranges any time we see something outstanding)4) It shows what type of houses to pass on (bad neighborhoods, busying streets, tiny bathrooms/kitchens, behind highways, railroad tracks, etc... 

Our agreement requires that I take all incoming seller calls, schedule property visits, take photos during property visits, research outstanding taxes and utilities, and run all of it through the mentor.  

@Eric WallaceAround here when you see purchases close to one another with a significant drop in price you are typically looking at an REO or tax lien: the first price is the bank/municipality foreclosure at the balance of the outstanding mortgage or tax lien; the second is often the property being resold off by the lender or at auction.   

Settlement agents will generally run a general index search before closing and any outstanding IRS liens against a person must often be satisfied out of the sale proceeds.  

Yes.A couple things worth noting:1. if your purchase agreement contains a section of representations and warranties from the seller such as a) i own the property; b) it is free and clear; c) there are no outstanding judgments/liens; etc., and anything later turns out to be untrue, you could pursue the seller for breach.2.

There are a couple of ways but the HELOC is probably the easiest option but you're in texas so most banks are only going to allow you to obtain up to 80% LTV on your primary home since its state law that limits this unlike other states.But 80% of 300k is 240k total loan amounts (about 93k give your current outstanding).There are community banks that can lend you up to 75-80% of the after improved value assuming the zoning on your parcel allows for the addition of this second storage unit home, in law unit, or second home on the property.The construction loan is more planning intensive and the funds come out in phases or "draws," in different flavors.