I'm not trying to overwhelm you, but just to give you an idea of some of the things you will want to know before moving ahead with construction, and not have any costly surprises. 

It wouldnt surprise me though if someday Mr. big government tries to regulate my mailings because 100 people in the country think it should be illegal.

I am surprised at how many knowledgeable people their are on this site that are willing to share their knowledge and resources.

I'm surprised I didnt get any emails from your responses...PM me if you guys are around.

We are exhausted, but I am so pleasantly surprised by how well we worked together on an intense, stressful project like this.

What about major repairs that can crop up unexpectedly?

He was the one who initially told me he wanted it appraised now, but was surprised of the cost of a commercial appraiser

Yes i'd file immediately but depending on the situation (sounds like she pays rent on time) I'd work with her to make payments especially if this was an unexpected $700 bill and not a case where she just hasn't paid the last 3-4 bills (If the latter then shame on you too lol).I word my lease so that overdue water bills are paid before rent so in this case she would be $700 behind on rent which would make it easier when filing court papers.

this was very unexpected and I gained a private lender from it.

One property was listed at $52,900, we offered $49k and they countered back at $50k, and it was an all-cash offer.Especially if it's a newer property and just coming off of First Look they're not going to entertain low ball offers.Again, each market is different but I'd be surprised if they let it go for $60k right off the bat.Keep us posted though because if they're accepting offers that low then we may need to re-evaluate that market!