Needless to say we were fairly stoked that he agreed to speak with our little group.Through the power of the internets, Skype and an overhead projector, we were able to beam his smiling countenance onto the screen for all to see, like Big(gerPockets) Brother watching over us from some Sci Fi flick... only a kind, gentle Big Brother with a beard, a mustache and cool microphone.He then generously answered questions from our members for the next 30 mins.It was incredible that even though Brandon was halfway around the world, it felt like he was in the room with us. 

I'd start with getting their name right: JP Morgan Chase.From there, its a twisted world of property preservation companies, REO agents and asset managers, none of whom have any incentive to work with you, and certainly not for the purposes of fire selling the asset.

Learn from success, and then put your own twist on it!

It became a twisted tit-for-tat game that I just had to win, lol.

Ok, so I got the address to a property while driving around a particular neighborhood. To make a long story short, the lady who inherited the house (husband died in 1998) from her husband is now in a nursing home with...

I discovered that the cast pipes used to be put together by pouring molten lead over twisted hemp which was jammed into the joints.

A deck off the house goes to within a few feet of the creek bank.The creek wall is 10' to 12' foot high off the back of the house.On the other side, the creek back slops gently up into the woods, so no concerns on that side. 

I couldn't follow all of the twists and turns of the relationships in your story so I won't comment on whether or not you should go directly to the seller.

I read the below posting regarding 1031 but have a twist on the question of which I'm hoping someone has an idea.  

Thanks for your help @Brett Goldsmith and @Ryan LeeOfcourse there is a twist - the current short sellers (current occupants) want to stay on and rent the place for 3 months due to medical issues and pay below market rent. would love everyones thoughts on how to approach this.