@Eliot M.Your last option would not be very desirable to the owners, as you've said that the house has been an emotional drain to them, so the idea of enduring a rehab sounds like a bit much.Do you know what is causing their stress with this property?  

Failures are bound to happen and the sooner you endure them, the closer you are to your major successes.

The main reason for the granules is actually to reflect heat and UV from the asphalt in the roof which gives it the water resistance, and flexibility to endure many years of weathering.

Folks that have $100K (or here in CA maybe $500K or more) in cash to spend on a house don't want to buy a house sight-unseen (at least on the inside), take on title risk, endure endless sale postponements and cancellations, take on an unknown amount of repairs, deal with foreclosed-out occupants, etc and do all of that just to find out, once inside, that they don't like the floor plan or that the neighbor's dog barks endlessly at night (remember, there are no transfer disclosures in foreclosure auctions!). 

Thanks for sharing your story so that we may not make the same unfortunate mistakes that you had to endure.  

So she endured a daily commute from the suburbs and tried to build a life.It never happened.

I am going to leave there regardless, so the high prices are likely something I will need to endure. 

Also going back to your points about E&O and liability, the incompetent agent that has a seller list $50K high who then has to endure 6 months of sitting there and multiple $10K price drops just to get back to baseline has no liability or culpability.  

The founding fathers had a goal of creating enduring and soverign nation.

The aforementioned parties continue to sell insurance with no care for the consequences that landlords endure as a result when making a claim.Do you really want to know how legitimate these companies are?