You wouldn't hire just some random guy to fix your car because his nickname was The Mechanic - a name is just that, a name.

She also said that the title insurance will go through the seller's escrow, but that one does not include HOA liens and mechanics liens (or IRS liens).

Surprisingly, property taxes paid to date but I want to make sure there are no mechanic liens, outstanding utility bills, IRS liens, etc. 

I'm currently a full time apprentice trying to acquire my mechanics license.

My opinion would be to get the MEPs (Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) situated and then work on some more of the cosmetic stuff. 

This agreement should cover aspects such as ownership percentages, decision-making processes, financial contributions, dispute resolution mechanisms, and exit strategies.

All mechanicals are updated.

So we walk through a property and look at everything from the flashing around the chimney, plumbing, is it galvanized, cooper, pex, is the main line updated, is the stack rusted, is there chipping paint on the exterior or interior of the windows, roof leaks, electrical, etc, etc..Once we determine the work needed due to the age of the mechanicals and the condition of the units we work backwards to get accurate P+L's for the property. 

There really isn't a huge difference between windows, doors, HVAC, mechanics, electrical, or plumbing from homes ranging from 900-1400 square feet, these don't really multiply until the home gets big enough that you need 2 electric boxes or 2 condensers/furnaces, etc.

@Louis Van Der WesthuizenYou can pay a lien search company.Find out if municipality ties utility liens to folio or owner.Local property appraiser website for tax owedLocal clerk of courts to investigate hoa liens, mechanical (some of these get wiped out but you need to find out if so)Local building department for code enforcement cases open, being fined, liens.Local neighborhood compliance if applicable for Lawn not beingcmaintained, mosquitos in pool, trash , etc.