Because tax deferral is an incredibly powerful force that will change your life if you exercise it with discipline and consistency - particularly when you're young.I think the situation is really more like what @Jay Hinrichs said. 

This is an important tool for anyone buying a tenant-occupied property.Give them one week to decide whether they are going to play ball or move out.

When they exercise they can get a new loan. 

I would avoid selling it directly to any contractor they will just try to low ball you.

Doing the number on paper is just that - it's a numbers exercise.

Maybe he is sick of being a landlord and throwing him an offer can get the ball rolling. 

I hope to start networking and getting the ball rolling towards my goal. 

The insurance on the home you buy I used $1500, and the interest rate you qualify for ($5/1000 with mortagage insurance is in the ball park with good credit, with bad or no credit it coudl be closer to 5.5/1000 which would reduce your max price to about $131,545,Most of these plexes I have looked at, of the limited number that are even listed, are just south of half a million.

I highly recommend attending several auctions to get a feel for how they work but unless/until you have liquid cash ready to go, anything else is an exercise in futility.

Hopefully they'll condemn the building and that should get the ball moving quickly to force a cleanup or auction of it