I am seeking a mentor who can guide me and teach me some things in exchange for my time.From NY upstate Hudson Valley

As Joel says, no way to say without more facts, but since you made an agreement to resolve it for $2,000, this is really a moot point.Yep, me too, especially since the debtor probably abandoned their interest by failing to seek collections over the years.$2K is good, be happy, don't worry!

But I was wondering what expenses you have to seek out in order to run an effective analysis on an investment property here in Michigan.

The output of an assessment is 'yes' or 'no' to treatment.

And that is the approach I would seek if that were the decision, a small mortgage not a heloc.I have thoughts on your other questions as well but to my mind this one needs to be answered first.Just my opinion.

You may find a $25K property that is only worth $50K after you've done a $25K remodel, whereas in another neighborhood, the same type of house might be worth $75K or $100K when complete and ready for sale.Best to analyze these and other basic metrics and stats for the area of interest, before taking the plunge.If you need more assistance, definitely check out your local REI group and ask lots of questions, or, seek out a more experienced investor who is working the same area you are interested in, before you jump in.

We are seeking a first mortgage from a local bank for our 4-plex.

For someone like myself that has no understanding of being able to deal in these more risky deals, what are some of types of investments people seek as an accredited investor?

A lot of this may depend on your liquid position, ability to access data for the markets you're seeking to invest in, and the type of support you can have in any particular market.I can tell you TX is old faithful and you can get into deals with less out of pocket, but there is high competition and your margins may be lower than say GA.

Technically, not notifying/seeking approval of change in ownership makes the loan in technical default if they checked, but I haven't heard of people coming to a problem with this, because it seems like most banks don't want to rock the boat as long as you are making your payments..