I recommend you speak with a lender about reviewing whether you could qualify for a loan prior to making an offer, as I've seen these kinds of things blow up.

Review Anchor Loans, they have closed many investors I've worked with.

If you're going to do it alone, make sure you your due diligence: estoppels, inspection, review, consult with a local attorney familiar with the local regulations, etc. and good luck.

With your costs being less you can invest more into the property to build reviews and get bookings. 

LOL   Yup he would risk getting his passport pulled.. and lawyers seeing this maybe there is a line up of process servers LOLman this dude he has stones. 

Quote from @Roger Flot: I was reviewing some renovated listings in my area and one indicated that even though the house was originally built in 1920, because of all the renovations bringing the house to current code, that you could get 2024 rates on insurance. 

You can also search BiggerPockets and Google for reviews from actual members.

Don't be so quick to indebt your paid off townhome until your learn creative financing and review all your options.

There is some info here: https://yieldtalk.com/iintoo-review/.

There is a kind of "board" which is assorted family members who meet bi-annually to review, vote, decide on any items they need to.