They want me to sign something that lets them start the title search.

The biggest problem is potential purchases I have had to abandon simply because either officials don’t call me back or they tell me to hire a lawyer to do a title search.All of this is by way of setting the stage for my question.

Wonder if anyone has run into the issue I'm havingMy wife and her parents went in on a duplex together and the three of them are all on the title and loan.My wife and I are in escrow on a house in Citrus Heights.

It depends if you have a lien on title already (a mortgage or hard money loan), but I would either do this as a hard money refinance or a DSCR cash-out refinance to pay for the reno. 

The title company did a search and found out the sellers haven't passed a electrical and mechanical inspections and owed money to the county for delays.

Also talk to title companies that do a lot of business with investors. 

I want a free and clear title. another property down the road, vacant, owners I can’t find and probably aren’t citizens of US.

I'm guessing they've got to get some fees on the deals in addition to title fees to pay their originators. 

The title was "Investing in fixer-uppers".  

I know how to find a building owner using county records, so I cross reference for the most recent name on title.