@Sean Buruschkin I would send the Landlord a 30 day notice to cure.

all inclusive deed of trust "  give that one a read..the risk comes if your the one with the underlying mortgage and your buyer defaults.. the buyer is in title and your need to foreclose them off... this takes time and money.you need to keep paying on the underlying mortgage other wise your credit is shot or you could lose your 90k you put down.for VERY cashed up investors this works.. for those trying to do this with minimal cash.. it can back fire big time.there was a group of investors who got this model in Oregon through a guru pitch deal.. did about 30 of them.. within 18 months half had gone bad and they had no way to cure.. i stepped in and cured a good number of them but boy were they in hot water.. in this case it was owner finance from the original seller  ..

If it is money, maybe $500 additional would cure the problem.

Refer them to your"no pet policy " . give them a cure or quit notice .    

If the auction date has not been assigned yet the homeowner probably has no call to action...he/she probably thinks they can still cure whatever default they are in.Your approach is going to be a bit threatening to the homeowner if you just show up asking them to sell their home...then again you never know how they will receive you.

His original debtor passed away and a family member is the personal representative.The auction is being handled by an established local auction house.The creditor has told us the personal rep can not cure the default which is about 45% of the market value as is.

with the above numbers if you buy it subject-to at closing you would cure the default (5k) and start making payments (and keeping his loan in place).  

Just understand that any negative might not be cured in the  future. 

Upgrades and updated finishes, as well as curing functional issues that were created by 70s builders such as doors into bathrooms through closets, no actual master shower, no doors to master bathroom.

Then you can proceed with less tension and dread.The cure for lack of knowledge is education.