A person that was building the house fell from the 3rd floor and was found dead in the basement at the end of the work day.  

If you are dead-set on buying a SD condo, find one you can buy well below market value, so you capture some equity upon purchase and are not just gambling the market bails you out.

@Evan O'BrienMost regulars on this forum are dead set against arbitrage as a business model, you can do a search on BP for this forum and find all the reasons why.

Mortgage all properties with 30 year and invest the cash in a income producing retirement fund.This is how investors benifite from what is otherwise underutilised dead equity.   

At that point you can lower the percentage of dead cash you have on hand relative to the value of the portfolio.

Even if a multi-family is a conditional use, one which requires a zoning hearing prior to being permitted, if the neighbor are dead set against it then its not worth the trouble.

I've called the county recorder too and asked who's name is recored on the mortgage, and this too is a dead end.Any thoughts on how I can track down the owner without the classic answers that I've already tried like sec of state, property tax statement etc.?

Granted, in Senoia, I know that fans are super excited to live there because "The Walking Dead" is filmed there, and again it could probably be a good spot for short-term housing, just for tourists visiting the area. 

I will not beat any dead horses, the obvious has been said a lot here (personal decision, weigh the pro/cons, look at the time investment, etc...). 

Well I'm paying way under original asking and a good deal less than what I was told was his drop dead 'won't go below' number.