Just observing and learning about the details of such "groundwork" can be interesting (though I'm not sure if I have the "appetite" for all of the details).Once upon a time, I was a civil engineering major in college.

Everything has been civil so far and we want to keep it that way.

The list is long and courts have routinely pierced the veils once a civil tort is proven.

@Tamara Weaver here is what I do with unknown persons that claim things that cannot be easily verified this will quickly and instantly weed out the wanna be's and the one's that are scammers.Tell him that you are interested however since this is such a large financial transaction you need the following.1. full name and SS number to run a background check on him both civil and criminal you can get one of these for 40 buckaroos..2.

I guess he would just have to take that up in civil court right?

I have never heard of an HOA turning someone away from a sale since they would be open for a civil suit.

I would add that you have loan docs analyzed by a real estate litigation attorney before signing.Even though some loans are considered non-recourse they have "bad-boy" or "carve-out" provisions in there where you are still liable.So don't think "non-recourse" and I am off the hook.You have to understand what's truly at stake when buying a property and what lender you are working with.

Apparently there was a litigation between the HOA of the property and the builders which started on 2008 (townhouses were built in 2003) at the transition period of the property to the HOA and during Common Elements engineering inspections it was found out that the buildings had numerous deficiencies in the construction such as improper construction of decks and deficiencies in the construction of the exterior cladding system stairs and stoops.

(Guess it is obvious that I was a litigator for many years.) 

land use and planning issues are not solved on the internet unless you happen to get a developer in your particular town to chim in here.YOu want to simply walk into the planning department of the town the property is in.. and if its not in a town then the county planning department.. sit down or stand at the counter and ask these questions of the duty planner... this will give you an indication of what can be done if anything given the zoning.you can also talk to a land planner in your city or county  ( fee based) or lastly most civil engineers that do residential work will know these answers as well.that's the bottom line go to the authorities that control these issues and ask them.