I have some questions that I hope the BP community can answer for me.My elderly father has just moved into in a retirement home.

I vote for whose best for elders and those that honestly can't provide for themselves.

I guess it depends on the market.In SOME parts of the Dallas area, the following is still possible SOMETIMES.1)  Pay $30,000 for a house.2)  Spend $3000 to fix it up.3)  Rent it for $950 a month to a single elderly person that is easy to get along with.4)  Property might be vacant for 2 or 3 days when the tenant leaves.Most out of state investors seem to be happy buying retail in our market. 

The problem is the elderly owners have a reverse mortgage for $400,000 and the purchase price is $800,000. 

Account Closed  could be a private mortgage not showing up on credit report.but really this is two issues  1. is their a recorded Deed to Secure debt or not..  2. will this POA be adequate to convey title and will a title insurance company insure it.this is what needs to be addressed and resolved if the OP is going to buy this or flip it right.So in my mind I would simply open an escrow pay a few hundred bucks and get a preliminary title report and title commitment.it will show any and all Liens that need to be addressed and it will also let you know who is in title and who needs to sign to convey title at that point you present this POA and its up to the title company to decide if its good enough.now in some cases they will want their escrow officer or another third party to go to hospital or were ever the owner is living to verify they are real and this is the intentions.I know we have to do this with extreme elderly that don't understand or those that do not speak english. usually thou they can come to the title company personally everything else is just supposition and trying to conduct real estate without spending a dime  LOL

The owner was elderly and looking to rid himself of the annoyance of upkeep in the properties, and was willing to take back a note.

This newspaper article is making the rounds on Facebook in Maine. http://www.centralmaine.com/2017/01/07/elderly-cou...Basically, an elderly couple living in a derelict "camp" (camps in Maine aren't usually year-round) didn't pay their taxes for over 5 years and their property was foreclosed by the town and sold.  

Remember when we are talking about a probate property where an elderly (typically) person has passed away and more often than not they will have lots of equity.

I was ready to move anyway because anytime my light daughter lightly ran accross the floor or my big man husband walked more than usual, we would get complaints from the elderly downstairs owners.  

Also, in my town, a southern small suburb of OKC someone was going to elderly folks and presenting them with fake documents that show the city has condemned their house and will use eminent domain and tear the house down.