My tenants texted me verifying that nobody went on the roof of the property yesterday.

Trust but Verify! 

Our property had shown signs of termite damage to a structural beam during the initial inspection, and I paid for both a structural engineer (to verify the beam’s integrity was sound) and a termite inspector (to verify there was no active infestation).  

The Will was recorded as well, with a supporting document signed by the deceased’ sister in law and the heir (sons) uncle, who is also an attorney, the called the document an Oath by Non-Subscribing Parties, verifying that the handwriting was of the deceased and legitimate.

You job is the trust / but verify.

Which is a good way to verify is the foreclosure is accurate.

You can check with the local building and zoning dept to verify this is doable, and the steps required.  

If you chose to keep the contracting “at arm’s length” and avoid any future liabilities, then verify/hire your contractors and don’t bring them in-house and be clear about their roles and responsibilities beyond the Scope of Work.I think it’s also important to know for all of us here at BP that the word “contractor” carries a lot of weight and means very different things to different people, none of them incorrect.

I'd like to make an offer, but want to verify my assumptions. 

I wanted to know what are some of the question you ask when you’re calling a previous landlord to verify the tenant.