"I over-sophisticated the ownership of a little house.  

To do my payroll with Quicken I had to pay $99 every year for tax tables that were uploaded to the computer.

So, yes, I'd want to understand what their real issue is and then work to address it.My main concern here, though, is that any seller sophisticated enough to make this request is probably an investor, rather than a "civilian."

I have been in volved with many many of these but the redemption rights were far more than the property was worth so no one in their right mind would redeem.. also not sure if its like our area but if they did redeem all other junior's re attached.. anything that was wiped out in the foreclosure sale comes back.Reality is this never happens in that market at those price points the folks that lost the house are long gone.. not nearly sophisticated enough don't have the money etc etc.that's my take on it.. if you can buy a bond that protects you and the seller pays for it.. just check out exactly what the bond covers .

That for me is the hardest part to run the numbers.Most of the infill builders have their own crew on payroll, but even then they are complaning about costs creeping up.

On the owner side, this means that there are more of them that are mismanaged and distressed, so while I don't condone trying to take advantage of less sophisticated sellers, the simple fact of the matter is that there is larger inventory of distressed properties with motivated sellers, so it is easier to find a deal.

@Ray SouthernIf you are purchasing residential properties (1-4 units) or small multis owned by mom-n-pop operators, most of the time these are not run as businesses, so not having adequate financial records is the norm.When you deal with larger properties you will have more sophisticated owners and "professional" management, and, in those instances, you should expect proper financial statements (though perhaps not full access until after you have an accepted LOI in place).

There is no "drawing" or "advance" that escapes taxable effects on payroll.

Insurance companies have gotten extremely sophisticated using in determining if damage was caused by a recent storm or is due to wear and tear.

This is a sophisticated structure that allows one to form and operate a corporation and fund that corporation using existing retirement funds without taxes or penalties.