Brandon writes about this in his book and a lot of investors preach it, but cash-for-keys is a terrible practice that should only be used as a last resort.

It involves the fact that the taxing authority and the law firm that they have contracted with to handle the tax suits just do not identify all of the owners who are entitled to be notified that the property is being foreclosed on.Tax sales are usually a mess.The tax deed itself even says that it does not even claim that the property exists, as well as not guaranteeing that you are receiving title.The only way you can be safe is to have a title company do a title search for you.I hope this helps.Good Luck.Michael Lantrip.

I would think this is a common practice that lenders perform, but if not....message me.

My experience in Denver has been that I have a home with an unpermitted floor above the garage and when we went into the city to find out about the work and if it was permitted they have been pretty generous with me since it's clear based on the ownership timeline that it was not me who did the work but we also have really lax laws in CO in regards to being able to fix your own primary residence yourself without a contractor if you're living in it at the time.

The only stickler to watch out for is if you aren't reinvesting the money back into your business (you would have to double check the tax law on what that curtails) the interest on that loan isn't tax deductible. 

Know and obey the law.

But states are passing laws to protect uneducated people just like your 2019 self.

Check California and San Francisco law to see if they list the item.

A trust is a legal entity that is subject to all the laws and regulations applying to every other entity.  

That's considered casualty insurance which title insurers are prohibited by law from providing.