But if its a damn good deal, the buyers will find their way to you.

The bigger thing is to make damn sure you've got a use for that building that's actually going to work, as commercial can be slow to sell.You need to know the place can be occupied within a timeframe that will work for you.Personally, I think buying vacant commercial without also having a business I plan to put in there seems kinda scary.. but that may just be because I've never done it (I have no experience renting buildings except to myself).On the upside, the kind of creative deals you can pull off with commercial are completely unheard of on the resi side...

Depends on the value of the property, the balance of the outstanding mortgage and how much your brother needs/wants for renovations.

With traits like outstanding work ethic, dedication to the project, meeting deadlines at all cost. 

Exactly @Christopher Phillips, the payout should cover the cost of the outstanding mortgage to make that go away.

Unless you just really like gambling or have money to burn, in which case, by all means - roll the dice if that's your thing.Further - contractors and suppliers are SO damn busy these days with all of the construction going on around here that getting a renovation of any real scale completed correctly or a new construction job done is a very serious challenge in and of itself and takes a great degree of skill, care, TIME, connections, and probably some luck.

Between this and refinishing the floors we estimate to spend about $10-$13k.There's some other outstanding things that need attention on the home, though:Minor basement seepage.Retaining wall in backyard needs to be replaced.Garage is not in the greatest condition -- likely needs to be rebuilt due to some dumb decisions by previous owner(s), such as cutting rafters to install a garage door opener...We're both currently on the "sell" side of this fence, but the tax implications have me concerned. 

But damn, an opportunity is an opportunity.

Its a lot of work..but don't know if you can file remotely...but you will have to physically appear in court (maybe).The goal is to get money..if you get a judgment,,record it in the county..they will eventually want to buy a car...and won't get credit or sell their home, but won't be able to sell their house if there is an outstanding judgement....Dont give up.   

Some of my properties have probably gained market value in the last few years since I bought but I don't want to make that assumption in this analysis until I have a new appraisal.Taxes have NOT been taken into account, but I think you all know that real estate beats the stock market hands down in this category.My biggest takeaway is that you need appreciation to achieve outstanding returns in real estate.