A friend of thought it was unusual that the lender insisted on an inspection.

Comparing this expansion to prior expansions shows that the length of this one is not unusual.

That works out to $78.50 per month, and that's not unusual or exorbitant for combined water and sewer charges (in fact, where I live, I pay that much monthly for water only - we don't have sewer). $232 for 12 months of water would be a ridiculously low charge. 

J is right and property tax assessment isn't a good way to asses the value of a property, because it could be (and usually is) relevant to previous years (like 2006) where the market was in a total different form than what it is now.This reply is probably a bit late but judging by the information given here, this specific house is worth the min amount of 140k unless it went under some unusual disaster.

As Dion points out, you can have the right to review financials, unusual for a small loan especially where there is not a right to accelerate the loan upon the failure of management.

You don't have to pay them at closing which is unusually 24 hours after auction but you need to take in account that you have to deal with them at a later time.2nd and most important fine print: make sure you know which position of the mortgage you are bidding.

We are in a time now where mortgages are uncertain and sellers are having a hard time selling their properties.

Looks like you are in the South too - many houses here don't even HAVE garages.As far as sink in the bedroom, I actually own a rental property just like that, and while it does look a bit odd/unusual, it's not been a big problem so far to rent it out at market rates (in my case it is a 3/2 without garage).

I'm a lot more comfortable taking a credit and giving future uncertain payment to seller if it does happen.

In a heated market unsolicited offers that shock the owner are not that unusual and can leave the long term investor in a quandry.