It let's them know the clock is ticking on them paying the rent before you start court action.

An option you could utilize would be to take out that appreciation via a HELOC or Refinance and if you use those proceeds to purchase additioanl real estate then you would be able to depreciation that new property.

Once it's in probate, the court oversees the sale or transfer of the property.

You will have two escrows, two closing, and two sets of closing costs in this method and you will also need to bring funds to the table to close the transaction between you and seller.More importantly, assignments as a means to wholesale are typically executed illegally as they violate CA DRE laws for brokering without a license so I strongly suggest that you look into the legalities of your wholesale structure before you proceed. 

I paid 130k at the court house for the house and 1/2 acre.. so well normally we like to spin our money but investing 130k with no income on bare land with upside  thats not bad.. 8.

Chris,My difficulty with selling if your are still looking to be a buyer with the cash proceeds is that you are playing both ends of a hot market which nets out.With regards to your question on determining a price, you can look at comps in your area or reach out to an agent if you have one.Real estate is very much a numbers game in my opinion.

I learned to put a memorandum on the home at the sheriffs office as a "lien" to further secure my deal.Doing my research and communication with everyone from the court, bank, attorneys, etc.on a constant basis ensured that nothing was delayed or missed.I learned about abatements and how to get to the next level when I had a uncooperative code enforcement office.

If they insist on paying the invoice, pay it for her and then take them to small claims court. 

Should you proceed with a 1031 Exchange, you can certainly sell one relinquished property and buy multiple replacement properties. 

The Insurance company may be a 24 hour claim line that you can get this reported to and get info on how to proceed.