And being from such a crazy expensive area such as the Eastside, don't let excitement cloud your judgement.

There are usually fire repair chasers out there, so when you talk to the owner, ask for business cards from those companies.

The option to purchase, if recorded, places a cloud on title, so make sure there are no other recorded complications.I agree the better plan is to flip the property, but you don't say where it is, so that may play into it.

Seattle is  becoming the hub of so many areas of Technology - Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Drones to name a few.

I'm slightly concerned that if I searched around and found someone to write a title insurance policy and close the deal that I would forever have a clouded title, just like the current seller has now.

You would really only be saving $30-$50 per month compared to using a professional and you don't have to cloud your relationship or worry about it getting done. 

The idea of getting market rents on a complex that large is too tempting- clouds my judgement.

An attorney once mentioned that recording can cloud things, so when you are the seller you might not want that (buyer's failure to perform will not make life more difficult to re-sell) - but as the buyer you just might want that ...

Then titles get clouded and there is nothing can be done.

I am going to try for a 1031, but good advice on not having the tax clouding my judgement as well.