There was a news reporter at the sale and they interviewed the high bidder, who admitted that they had not seen the property, but were certain that they would be building their family home there. 

In cities like Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, you could buy multiple properties for the same $200K-$250K you’d spend on one in a pricier market.

@Drew Sygit wow I was considering the 30 to 40k price range but I'm seeing there may be multiple problems to be weary of from Leins to gas and water lines.

As a lender, I see multiple parties signing a mortgage all the time.

@Tom S.1) Under the IRS multiple loan rules there is a 12 month look back period (see reference to 12 months in the IRS post) whereby the highest outstanding balance of any loan during the prior 12 months will be considered outstanding for purposes of calculating how much you can take on a subsequent loan. 

I live in California and invest in multiple states, if that matters.

There are greater risks and cost investing out of state especially if you have to take long flights multiple times per month to interview your core 4 check on projects etc.

Take a few to lunch and interview them.  

The return is generally presented as either the IRR, Equity Multiple, or Cash on Cash Return.Based on your numbers above, is the seller asking $859k for the property?

It took some digging, working closely with a title company, and negotiating with multiple parties to get it resolved, but in the end, it was a great learning experience—and a successful deal!