floor addition on the house, which is probably on a field stone foundation, making that impossible also. 

My wife and me look into buying a top floor apartment in Lisbon.

Seeing this everyday I'm sure was a factor in my friends' brothers' delilberate demise.The renters helped me clean and paint beginning a few days before finishing yesterday. 

“She’s the best tenant, so clean, blah blah”.

Even the cleaning service is paid by the guests.

Fill any holes they use to get in , bait traps outside , snap traps inside , clean up trash and debris around the house . 

Since I'm not a lawyer and I don't know what state you're in, you'll need to find out if this property passed to this guy automatically because a living trust was in place, or if it needs to go through probate before he gets it, or if he was a joint owner with the sister.If all this is clean, then you should be able to buy it from the guy.

Now, those homes have gorgeous hardwood floors, an excellent open kitchen etc. 

We are also removing plaster and updating with drywall, and are adding new flooring in the bathroom and downstairs, and of course, fresh paint throughout.

Having someone change sheets, clean, organize, etc makes a lot of sense.