Or, am I just gambling with the appraisal fee and hoping for the best? 

I have no worries about gambling my time over the higher probability it will close. 

And even if you do, there is always a level of "gambling" involved when dealing with these properties.Disclaimer: While I’m an attorney licensed to practice in PA, I’m not your attorney.

@Armin Trepic my advice would be two fold. 1) Having a knowledge of the stock investing, I am assuming you have a risk tolerance level as well as ability to think long term (investing not gambling) .

Have to hunt or take a bit of a gamble.

They may take the listing to have a sign in the yard and some exposure, but every newspaper ad/minute spent is a gamble for them.

Clear you debt before you start GAMBLING on investing money you do not have.

Life's a gamble.

It would be a big gamble to buy this thing and not break even and then enter into any sort of issues with maintenance or finances.

It might have enough appreciation to offset all the money you throw at the house in payments and maintenance, taxes, etc, but if you want to gamble with your money, there's better ways to do it.I think you need to start with goals and decide if this deal lives up to your deal standards.