Do they have debt or are these free and clear?

All the attorney will do is call a judgement recovery company.Just go straight to the judgement recovery company.They will want 50% as well.Talking to a judgement they have told me there experience is it takes years to collect anything substantial.Per federal law you can only garnish a certain percentage of the paycheck at a time.If you have a strong debtor owing the money with a good job the judgement company could buy you out for 20 cents on the dollar (about 3,000) today and let them deal with it.If the judgment company feels the tenant is judgment proof or will file imminent BK to wipe it out they will only agree to partner on it with you if that.

Definition = a cash-out refi is typically defined as a refinance loan (i.e. taking a loan on a property already owned - either w/o debt or concurrently paying off old debt) where after closing costs, cash goes into the borrower's pocket.Typically above a threshold like $2,000A refinance loan where the borrower doesn't get any cash or is under the threshold (Example new $510,000 loan pays off $500,000 loan and $10k closing costs = net zero to borrower) is called a: Rate-Term RefinanceWhy are cash-out refinances such a powerful tool for real estate investors?

My parents are saying its in inconsistent and unreliable  income, but I think that's false because I'm young and as long as I don't debt or liabilities, I can learn to cope and network to find deals in any scenario.  

But in principal I agree that you should allocate your money to the area that will give you the greatest return, regardless of whether that is paying off debt or investing in an asset that generates a return (adjusting for risk).

Architects, engineers etc.Who will be liable for any debt or construction loans obtained?

For example, I am a little concerned about some aspects of the business cycle recovery and a potential for a double-dip so I lean toward the safest part of capital stack which is debt (or low-debt equity).

In FL/CA the bill follows the user not the property, so I'd simply let the utility know that they need to seek compensation via the 'debtor' which I am not. 

@Steve Babiak it just names the debtor as the previous owner.

But I would imagine a 10,000 sq/ft industrial building isn't too expensive in Fort Wayne, IN but still you would need to service the debt or account for a cash purchase in the beginning.