The property is in pre foreclosure status. 

(ah, so paid answering service given the script "this is zillow" I use one as well for my business accept that the service pretends they are in my office referring the call to me instead of pretending to work for a totally different company in a bid to trick the caller). 

I paid $6400 for the house, rents in the area are typically $1200-1500 a month, House is a complete shell and has some Structural damage from a tree falling on it towards the back.

I didn't even get paid.

That means the home would likely be fully paid off in around 5 years.

Fix and flippers have been trying to call banks to get access to their pre-foreclosure list for quite some time.

The house will be paid off in June of 2026 and my plan was always to pay it off, use the increased cash flow from no mortgage to pay down other properties for a few years, and then sell it and 1031 into something closer to me in Cleveland. 

Should I first secure a pre approval for what I am qualified for or should I just continue looking at properties.

I couldn't convince her that the contract required them to pay HO Insurance & RE Taxes, but since I felt they couldn't or wouldn't pay the Homeowner's Insurance or the Real Estate Taxes, I had paid them for all of this time.

There are a few vacant lots nearby that have not yet been developed, though one party paid a significant amount for a lot about 2.5x the size of this one, so that at least provides some basis for comparison.