You have to sign an addendum of sorts because normally that has to be transferred with the property .

Finally, the reason they are getting away with it is because they are pulling from their investors' 401K instead of bank transfers and wire transfers.

Is there any incentive for the bank to settle for much less than the balance to transfer title to direct buyer (assuming it costs them certain amount of money to foreclose)? 

I don't see them as competition, (we are $17-$20/ft, they will be $30+)  but rather that the area is growing as seen by someone who has better data than we do.  

Their current lease will transfer during sale... then give them notice they'll need to vacate.

In addition to being the IT Director for our local county government, I am also well versed in geographic information systems (GIS) as a data analyst, and am a Certified Floodplain Manager.

Some taxes, like transfer taxes, and title insurance are tied to the property price.  

@Jason HowellJason: It looks like you have enough data points to axe the deal without much further research.

Even if they decide to keep it and rent it out, they need to verify the mortgage company will tell them how to transfer the docs and mailing address, along with allowing them to continue to pay or assume any finances.

@Brad Braun , I don't have any data on this, perhaps I am being overly cautious.