There are legal concepts of "meeting of the minds" while contracts are written, there still needs to be enough trust that what is written will be observed or performed in good faith by others.

Clouding the foreclosure process will likely land you in court as your lease, IMO, is not at arms length in good faith as you are obstructing the expected foreclosure, in this deal where the owner has left and not paying the mortgage, it's obvious to a reasonable person that a foreclosure is likely.

It was a leap of faith.

You should look into getting a liability insurance policy, trip and falls are a bigger risk during ownership than any buyer exposure if you are dealing in good faith, IMO.

Perhaps we could put down some extra monies with the Title Company to show your Seller in good faith that the loan will be going thru. 

Would it be advantageous for me to pay off the HELOC (as a sign of good faith and to show that I can pay off loans quickly), and then take out another HELOC to invest more... or because I am still only in the first year of a ten year HELOC, it doesn't really matter and I should just reinvest the cash?

It used to be that a GFE Good Faith Estimate and the HUD, not sure if all that went away or just the HUD, would provide a break down.In any case, without using any lingo, I would ask them to provide a break down of just what they are estimating for the closing.

Be patient and keep the faith ;)

I am asked to submit a $1000 good faith deposit.

I currently don't have any experience with real estate but I'm hoping to find some guidance and direction.Humility, Generosity, Faith, Truth, Honesty, Compassion and Family.