In terms of a real estate contract, you can get sued in the civil court.

They also admittedly have approved similar claims in the past, so I have requested copies of all requests made over the four years the condo building has been in business (only 12 units, so it can't be too much).I won't really be able to get an appropriate estimate without ripping up the floor boards, so should I just choose a reputable contractor and then take them to small claims court?

The islands are very close to mainland China / Asia, and those countries investors are actually coming more to the US to look for RE these days.

I'm not a lawyer- but your interest can range as low as 1/2% to 99% - best to check with others here :-) My attorney has done deals as low as 1/2% - and it has held up in court ( he helped pass the rule in a Superior court case here in Georgia a few years ago).

@Tim James  I suspect you can find some pretty good deals in the Roseburg area and not have to go clear cross the country.  

I think part of the reason has to do with the fact that the numbers here are so much bigger than most of the country.

I suggest you post the owners city, country and zipcode so some local investor may offer to visit the address to relay the information.

Scheduling repairs, clean outs, preparing eviction paperwork and showing up to court

Do you know the pros and cons about HUD and court step sales?

If permits were not pulled I am requiring the seller pay for permits to be pulled to verify the work was done correctly.If for some reason we found this out after the closing and there were issues with the home the seller is now open to an court case or arbitration.