Establish a propsal , seek investor and actual have something to offer them instead of realtor services. 

Since the taxes are unpaid, it is likely the property is paid off, unless he has a lender/loan servicer that is just being lazy and allowing unpaid taxes and fees to accrue.

First thing's first; I'm not in the military but THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

You don't want another service call on this stove in the future.  

I work closely with US military everyday to keep morale high and to keep service members connected to home and family.

As I am earning relatively well in my job I can afford to service the 15 year loan and the debt is being paid down relatively quickly.

My husband and I have been running a heating and AC biz for over 3 years now, we do it all; commercial, residential, new construction, equipment replacements, custom duct design & fabrication, service, maintenance, repairs...

Use your $25K for the minimum down payment (minimum down so you'll have some left over), closing costs, and reserves.

If we are paying the mortgage, we ask that there be one months payment in reserves just in case the tenant is late or does not pay. 

The official zoning is C-RS (commercial rural service) but as the home was built is 1919 so it is existing, non-conforming and can be used as a SFH or commercial business.