For example - the seller can use it for their due diligence fee, pay off a credit card, pay off a medical bill, gamble, buy a bathtub full of gold, etc. the moment they receive it (normally the day after the offer is accepted).

Hey Mick,We have an awesome team of local and offshore team members.

Many are attracted to the low fees this company offers, but find out the hard way that some of their services are lacking.They use offshore VAs to be able to offer their low fees and some of these VAs don't care.

Either way is a gamble but if they are a legitimate business you may have a chance at 25-50 cents on the dollar or more and that's a better return than zero.

I gambled what I could afford to lose, just I don't like losing.

Gambling on yourself in REI by liquidating your retirement without first having any experience, is very bad advice, imo. 

So I don't gamble on it. 

If you want to gamble on appreciation just go to the casino and put it all on red or black at the roulette table. 

To avoid taxes down the road you may want to setup your own offshore fund and get an attorney involved as CA is expensive to lend in. 

I feel as if this investment might be a gamble with this open permit, considering it most likely has to pass inspections before the permit is closed.