@Sandy Uhlmann These quiet ions are always state specific, as most foreclosure issues are.  

There was a house built on the land in the late 60s, but it was demolished a few years ago because of foundation issues attributed to the underlying soil.The Township says that they know there are "soil issues" with the property, but they won't say how they know this.

Things like fungus damage of the subfloor, support posts in the crawlspace in soil contact, hairline cracks, and (scariest to me) no foundation on a portion of the structure though majority is pier and block.  

Keep in mind some things won't show themselves for awhile, a house usually gives up most of it's ghosts in a 1 year cycle, this allows it to go through the seasonal changes of moisture, expansion and contraction and tear itself apart where it needs to, tile floors will show cracked grout within a year, letting you know they weren't installed with proper underlayments, drywall will crack at doors and windows showing the house movement do to soil getting wet and drying out where it shouldn't, the basement will get wet showing you where the freeze thaw is effecting it, paint in bathrooms will show mold in a year showing you that the flipper didn't vent exhaust fans properly and the list will go on and on... 

I spent the last 2 January's in Thailand, and I definitely missed the warm sandy beaches this year.Since you are already an engineer professionally, why not start on the MBA now? 

@Sandy WeedThe source of the deal and the list price don't matter - the house is worth what the house is worth, repairs are what repairs are, and my investment criteria is steadfast.

It you are dealing with 3/4 maple my guess would be you are good to sand. I

Originally posted by @Sandy Uhlmann: In doing due dil on a newly released tape of junior liens,  I see several properties on this  that are listed by Zillow as being already sold.

However, if I was the tenant I would be soiling myself and pulling all the punches to not get evicted because I would have no where else to go.

Sandy,Firstly, It depends on the risk you are comfortable taking.