But the idea of buying a property "subject to" and closing using a real estate lawyer (not a Title company) seems to imply that a property can be sold without satisfying the underlying lien, and without contacting or involving the lienholders at all.Can anyone help explain the mechanics of how the ownership can change hands without paying off an existing lien?  

The drain was a mechanical issue, not a clog.

What's more important, making a profit or getting an understanding for the mechanics of REI?

Trying to understand the mechanics of wholesaling a MF.

An in-house mechanic helps too (you can clean up if you dis-allow other mechanics onto the property as my marina does. 

The problem is, the bulk of their students start out under-capitalized (even more so after paying tens of thousands of dollars for the guru), so the guru has to recommend over-leveraging as a mechanism to get started. 

That should easily get you through any doomsday scenarios - assuming the building's mechanicals are in relative decent shape.If everything looks like its on its last legs, then maybe not.But you just need to be prepared that you may get hit with two things in a month (i.e. new ac and roof or sewer and furnace, etc) and have the money to be able to replace them.

It is much more than simply what you can find at the county recorders office… For example… When a title company does a title search and a title report, they will… Check the county recorders office, check the courts for pending litigation, check divorce records, check for city liens, sewer liens, city assessments, check code enforcement liens, check utility liens, check mechanics liens, state tax liens, federal tax liens, similar name search, etc etc… Are you really going to go to all these departments and do all this?

The designer or the mechanical engineer?

Here is a link to an illustration of the mechanics and distribution of risk when this is used for corporate/commercial transactions.