Turns out the previous owner who was long deceased somehow received a loan from the department of public assistance (obviously an expired program) against the house.

Just be prepared for the potential that your home may not be a long term resting spot for tenants.

If you become a paid member on here for PRO on BP there is a program that does something similar for valuation although it does not have near the functions that this program has.

I've taught high school economics for 11 years and labored through a couple of grad school programs, most recently an MS in finance that I'll finish up this year.Outside of being a homeowner (and a partial owner of family land) I am new to real estate investing.

He was able to match the slightly lower competitor costs in the GFE..Let them know when they are preparing the GFE that you will be using it to compare so you can get the most competitive possible.

What if I want to have an offer prepared before getting a contract from the seller?

Its all how you look at it @Jason Eyerly .The biggest tip that I always give people is to be prepared.

Make sure you don't by an expensive software program to do this.There are products sold based on saving mortgage payers thousands of dollars.All you have to do is what Steve said above...and it is free!

Seller finance for purchase and prepare for a worst case DOS?

I saw a great write up about BP on another blog that was discussing RE programs you have to pay for in Houston, ie, Lifestyles Unlimited.