Increase the character count for the PROPERTY SALES DESCRIPTION field. 

Frugality opens many doors down the line and the character building you experienced during those early years is priceless.

Otherwise, old homes are cool and have lots of character.

See if you can get their authorization to go over there (you may not even need it but it's good to call and ask), give the shady characters a firm deadline to get out, and lock down the place with changed locks and an alarm system when the deadline passes.

In general I see there is little movement things have certainly slowed down and I believe it could be attributed to the timing along with changes in the interest rates.

I haven't done any home inspections for real estate transactions, but it kind of builds character as a landlord when your tenants know you're a certified home inspector (things get taken care of). 

Is this something that I should worry about or am I simply being too suspicious of the birth mom's highly suspect character?

One of the most important attributes of a contractor is to not make dumbass mistakes.

If you can identigy a technician that works with integrity, is of good moral character and honor it should not cost you much to make sure things remain running smoothly. 

I can't help you on the commercial side, but the mortgage broker I use at Key Mortgage Services can do residential loans in your LLC's name while qualifying you based on your personal attributes (credit, employment, DTI...etc).