A cement or heavy wooden cover has always worked for me without the need to actually fill it in....but if you want to completely eliminate any risk filling it in is the only way to do that.

I have not been able to find anything online confirming that. 

@Lorry Champagne There is so much information online that you can find for free.

I was hoping with new ownership I would be able to purchase and move in. I

I'm sure there are some who can find deals in this market, but i have yet to find any homes close to being able to cash flow sufficiently in the last 3 years after literally going through hundreds or maybe thousands of mls, zillow or other online house listings. 

As with any/all information you see online, this is my system and what works for me.

it built about 20 or so years ago, I guess grandfathered in I don't know why it wasn't recorded maybe they didn't want the taxes to be higher?

Bringing utilities in is basically the same thing.

one thing I like about this it keeps me up to speed on the REAL laws not the hearsay you get on line ..  

With a really resourceful and great community (at least online so far) http://www.dfwreiclub.com/ Staying active on BP you should get plugged into various wholesalers.