I heard a story today of a condo owner whose entire complex was lost.

Some companies allow property owners to select tenants and set the screening criteria...We do not - our criteria does not bend. 

For your 1st time, pay a Property/Land/Transaction Attorney to review the title commitment with you to make sure that there are only the outstanding liens on the property, and that the owner has title.- Collect Tax Certificate to verify Property Taxes are Paid- Get a current statement from the seller to verify the existing balance, if they are delinquent, you can get the bank on the phone to verify the amount to make the loan current.- Review the loan documents, there is most likely a due on sale clause, which is why you won't find a title company to process these for you.

@Stacey OlsonRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

The list comes out at least 30 days before the sale and the owners have opportunities to pay off the debt anytime in those 30 days. 

Additionally, I would like to attempt to do the process Owner/Builder with subcontracting work out as well as doing some of the work I'm comfortable with (I have some experience with bathroom & kitchen remodeling an am not new to the construction industry).

Would she need to be an owner occupant in the eyes of the lender.

The old owner unfortunately locked his tenants into $800 leases which scared away some buyers before he listed.

If a property goes into foreclosure on a second, as Ken said you will either be buying it subject to the first mortgage - meaning it's your mortgage now - or the first has to be satisfied to take possession of the property - or the owner of the first is going to be there bidding what they are owed, so you would need to outbid them to get the property and then you are the person paying off the first mortgage. 

Hard money is a type of business loan for non-owner occupying investors.