What matters in court isn't so much the amount, but winning, win the suit and get a judgement. yes the more $ the better but make sure to get a judgement. 

Not to blame anyone... lol But I think my wife skewed my numbers :) We added the fence, driveway (about 75 ft by 13 ft), pavers, rain gutters, sewer line to the main home (not her fault), water proofing for the garage perimeter, and a hammock ... $81k total : I would say about $65k without all of these. 

If the tenant later complains you threw out $2,000 worth of belongings, you can hit back by showing you spent $3,600 to turn the unit around.The difficulty with this approach is that $2,000 worth of belongings could FAIRLY result in a $20,000 judgement against you!

True, but if you have a civil judgement, generally they will make that E&O claim.

Other things to consider: if seller files bankruptcy, divorce, or has judgements they will stick on the house and can be recovered by many sources- as in you lose.VA and FHA are the only assumable loans.

Had to have code enforcement get a court ordered judgement to enter & shut down the abode as uninhabitable. inherited another tenant with a 3 week old new born living in disgusting conditions with a huge weed grow operation in the basement.

@Holly Ross "I toured it but found that it would almost need to be an actual rebuild since the foundation is cracked, the roof has a tree growing out of it" - That property is dead in the water so great judgement on your part to no offer on it! 

Make sure that your judgement isn't clouded by "My family and I just returned from a lovely week in Tulum."

On Aug 22, 2019 we got a judgement against the tenant for July, Aug, & half of Sept rent. 

Risk to the buyer is the seller gets a judgement against themselves and buggers the title.