If you are unable to take over the unit, call the police and file a breaking and entering report.

@Ryan Gill Unfortunately the bank will not likely let you simply assign the contract and change the buyer, so you may have to double close like Ned suggested. 

We in NO way want to under pay any good work, but this is simply taking advantage.

For this the simply tack on the price of a one-year renewable term policy.

Yep, the seller can simply walk away on the 31st.....You failed to perform, not the seller.  

This doesn’t create any more work for a contractor then if they were quoting any other job AND you’re being a source of referrals for that contractor.To protect yourself, make sure you note that you are simply offering the quote for reference and not as a guaranty of what needs to be done.

I am dead set on entering the real estate investment game but like I imagine a lot of people feel when they are just starting out, I am not sure where to begin.  

Once you have it you can enter the address into the Fulton County Assessors website to determine if they show it under the decedent's name.

Since the hurricane last year, I have noticed people who claim to be "contractors" are sometimes simply a man with a truck and a clipboard for the written estimate. 

It's important for me to control any lending situation that I enter -- whether it be a note or a hard money loan -- and the amount I would have to fund in NYC either would require me to bring in other investors, and thus lose control,  or would require me to tie up too much money in one note, which would be disastrous given the lag to a foreclosure.