There are two factors at play here. 

I'm not particularly enamored with the idea of not having a lease agreement in place, even if its a month-to-month lease, so am wondering how this would play out.Thanks in advance!

Still looks like it could make for a great deal but with historic buildings there are many things that come into play that you normally wouldn't encounter.  

If your project is coming in under a cap rate spread of 200 bps (this is what my firm uses in NYC so I'd assume mass market should be much higher spread), then ditch the project.

This is the type of person that represents the masses in the real estate field in our area.Of course, there are very professional agents in Miami.

French banks dont finance US properties, it's a french company that plays an intermediate part between us banks and the borrower.

That could play into whether or not the lien will be wiped out in the event of a Debtor's bankruptcy. 

As Wayne said, you need to make sure the stay was lifted in the bankruptcy and then you are free of any restrictions imposed by the bankruptcy (or bankruptcies- they may be trying to play games with multiple filings). 

You need the interaction in the live room you need the role playing to hear how the pro's handle objections  etc etc. 

Don't let personal opinions get on the way, ask for an approved change order, if they couldn't produce it, play hard ball, after a few arguments, draft what you want to pay, and let them know that this is only what your paying. i lost 50k on a job because I didn't have the right paperworks, and there's nothing i could do, so i know what it takes legal wise.