Finally, confirm if there are any existing service contracts (for landscaping, pest control, etc.) that may need to be transferred or canceled.

Now he says he is negotiating nationwide deals on materials that are priced so low the quality is non existent.

In my experience like other things you get what you pay for. if you go with the companies that are charging super cheap rates - 5%, $100/month or something like that they don't have enough income to sustain a supportive team to actually help you manage your home. 10% is the going rate it seems in the city and that is where the better companies tend to exist. 

Inheriting a tenant can be a bit of an adventure, but with the right steps, you'll be golden.First things first, dive into that existing lease agreement.

One option rather than doing that could be Subject To - in which you buy the house for $184K subject to the existing mortgage.

It's essentially using multiple novel (but legal) applications of long-standing regs to an activity that largely didn't exist at the time they were created. 

If the existing ceiling paint is damaged, the ceiling must be scraped, repaired and painted.

We still see one another, but it's not the close family ties that once existed.

So there are now 20+ people to connect with in order to get a clean marketable title, (none of these existing family members have any idea of the property even existing).

The right wholesaler that knows how to properly calculate a SOW (scope of work) to gain the rehab budget, generate an ARV from local comps and not want to get rich on every deal is NOT easy to find....but, they do exist.