You need to find out the root cause of what happened, did the utilities get shut off, if so was it before or after the PM was there. 

It's easily fixed but an expense much like any other roof, foundation, old knob and tube electrical or root filled old sewer line. 

i heard to go to the city town hall to get permits and follow the process. let us know how it goes. we are all rooting for ya!

Rooting for you from NJ :) 

To get to the the root of "as-is", find out if seller intends to deny access for inspections altogether.

We are rooting for you.

You will have lots of BP cheerleaders rooting for you no matter the damage done to the sellers, lies, deceit, and dishonesty.

let me address the core root of your question: how to build your buyers list.REIA groups are a great way to meet local people in your area - try to make it to as many as you can and be very active in the group.

Some other cities are highly troubled due to corruption or long rooted issues (Waterbury), and some of those are further along to improving (Bridgeport).  

People who are looking to buy are looking to set down roots, maybe have a family - in short, they're probably looking to stay a while and will want to have a lot of bases covered right off the bat (whereas renters may be thinking they will move or buy elsewhere 'when the time comes' whatever the 'time' might be).