Florida foreclosure court records are public record.

The courts would likely arrive at the same conclusions described in 1 – 4, above.

3) The few banks I spoke to informally appear to be uninterested in writing a loan unless the tenants in the property have long leases that practically exceeded the loan term.

The BK court won't let him use the house for collateral, nor does he have any other assets to pledge as security.He's willing to be generous with a fee

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The court appraisal on the property is 80K.

What you described is normal wear and tear in the eyes of the court and it is very difficult for a landlord to with hold your security deposit for that. 

I just got off the phone with the lawyer as I didn't need to appear for the return date.

I think feigning shock at the headline is one thing, but just reading the first line to see the length that this group appears to have gone to in making vacant units look rented is shocking. 

More like, under control of the bankruptcy court and trustee.