Additionally, he was very clear he didn't deal with third parties and would not wire money to attorneys or closing agents and certainly not before receiving the fee.

This is why we are almost exclusively a B/B+ turnkey operator, it is very difficult to find the kind of deals in A areas that leave enough margin for instant equity to compensate for the reduced cash flow (due to high loan payments, high property taxes, etc).

I may have additional questions.

Until it is recorded the city is still going to show the old owner as of record.Part of the foreclosure process does require advertisement in the local paper a certain number of time before the actual sale.If the notice gave a court docket number you can look at the case at the land court in Boston and see who the attorney is and try to contact them about purchasing or purchasing when the actual sale is (without looking at the actual ad, this may be the first step before the foreclosure is scheduled in which case there will be additional notices)Not sure if there is a law library in New Bedford at the court but if so they might be able to provide some additional information regarding how a foreclosure works in MA.

Meaning they will want to be equity investors not debt investors like you suggest.To make a good syndication deal you need to preferably find something better than a 6 cap, have a fairly reasonable expectation of raising rents/reducing expenses and borrow really low cost funds and then hope that things go well in your 3-5 year plan.There are a lot of people making this look easy right now but if you step back and look at why that is, I think you'll find that the last few years have been very good for that type of transaction because of rising rents and corresponding appreciation.

Did your agreement to reduce rent until grass is installed specify how much grass, and where?

Yes, paying but I like a contractual relationship rather than a mentor who I'm not sure how much time I can take from them, etc. and that will hold me accountable, has done a lot of deals and is truly doing it and I can learn a ton from in addition to all the other supplemental podcasts, books, forums, meetup groups around MF.  

In addition to what @Gena Kirkwood said, there is a beginner in real estate sub group this Wednesday October 26th from 5:00-7:00 PM at Pasta Express on W Republic Road.

@Dakoda SpencerZillow shows tax information but you will also want to verify it on the town website because there may also be an additional town or school tax.I would probably pay cash for the property if rent is going to be so low because you will need some money to cover ongoing expenses.

And, in addition, Landlords provide a bucket of salt for tenants.