Anyways, a few days I got a letter from him in my email talking about how this letter is their official letter of telling us we need to vacate the premises unless we pay like, $8,000 in fees. 

I forgot to mention that the house is condemned, but I haven't gotten the full story yet from the building official.

A landlord's written notice of damages must itemize the nature and amount of tenant damages, including any unpaid rent or utility payments, and must be accompanied by the balance, if any, of the tenant's security deposit not being claimed for damages plus interest.Did your landlord provide you with an official "written notice of damages" within 30 days of you moving out?  

Or does the hoa need to send a letter for them to be officially be breaking the lease? 

Suggest you call a loan official and show him photos.

It's truly like going back in time and the current town officials were completely unaware of all of this LOL as the old officials are now long gone and nobody was the wiser.  

I think Realtor.com is the official website of mls and you should have full access to it as a buyer right now...

I would bring the current owner with me and have a face to face talk with the building officials and get it straight from the horses mounth with the current owner being aware. 

Assuming me and the potential seller reach an agreement on price over the phone or by email, what type of document or form would I need to make the agreed upon price official?

Over the last year and a half I’ve accumulated 45 units and haven’t done any official background check on any of the placed tenants.