It's 1200sq ft (probably more because it certainly didn't feel like 1200 sq ft when we looked around) sold as-is with special warranty deed and on the surface there are very little cosmectic problems with the house except for the carpet and walls and one moisture damaged window.

What are some questions we could ask the seller to figure out the behind the scenes of what, on the surface, seems like a great deal?

This way, they come in, strip the beds, take out all linens and towels to wash off site, replace with new ones, clean all surfaces, etc and they're out the door.

There's a lot of information here...I've barely scratched the surface myself.  

You have surface mold and airborne mold.

If it needs a lot of work, just have your agent ask what type of shape the building systems are in.If you are still good with it then you can think about partnering up and going for it, but on the surface it seems like something is not adding up.

So I won't spoonfeed my strategy to you, but instead I can scratch the surface of it and tell you what to research.

Have you found that you don't get the value back for spending money on solid surface like corian or granite?

On the surface, that's net neutral.

You can get solid surface tub surrounds at Lowes or Home Depot.