Construction standards are very lax, but modern homes are concrete and stucco with wood roofs.

The only possible problem are the old stairs that are steep by modern standards.

The fat-lady sung the album simply has yet to be released.     

@Nadine Perry    Always good to go to the sale and observe...take your list, see what your Maximum bids would have been, and see if you would have won any with your max bid.If you're going to Harris county there used to be a lady who would give a brief overview of the sale maybe 1/2 or 1hour before the sale.Not sure if it is this lady or not....or even is she still does it.There is also a group called RAD that might show up and give a brief overview, just in case you see shirts or signs.Here is the guide to Harris County.....it is a little different than other counties due to number of properties and size of the county.https://www.hctax.net/About/An...They don't have one big sale, but split it up by Precinct....I believe 1,2,3,4,5,6,7   so essentially 7 different sales.You may have work to do with your title company to get some liens removed if there are any...like mortgages.Governmental liens like IRS, Treasury, city liens, code compliance, demo liens things like that typically don't fall off and can't be negotiated...you'll have to pay those in most cases. 

You provided the two options we posed for ourselves: modernize some back-office or sub it out.  

A young lady I know father passed a few months back and left a 4bdrm, 3ba house that she wants to sell.

These aren’t high end commercial units, these are the cheapest units that look decent/modern from local big box stores. 

Sometimes just getting rid of old fixtures and draperies and replacing them with neutral modern looking items makes a difference.  

this run to attorney and think they can wave a magic wand and make stuff happen is just flawed thinking.. this case is worth NOTHING.. the buyer should just move on and chalk it up.. what are his damages really.. that's what it boils down to.. he gets his deposit back he gets his EM.. he is out a little time.In my case even with a court order the lady would not sign..

We had a lady pay 70% of her rent, she has now went unresponsive to the PM.