The house had been sitting on the market for about 8 months and was extremely overpriced - starting at $109k and had slowly fallen to $90k.  

I've seen people go crazy on the asking with just clean-out & framing work done and it sits for a year(s) due to overprice on the flipside.

And you baby sit the duplex til it pays off.

Buyer gets the rest of the meat on the bone.

If you need to go this route, spend a couple hundred bucks to sit down with a construction lien attorney, and get some pointers on revising your contract at the same time.

Sorry if it's a stupid question.I'd say that would be a much better "lead in" if you were a contractor, all you want really is an opportunity to talk one on one, then you can offer to purchase.If you're dating a 17 year old you don't have to sit on the square of the town, go to the drive-in (well, it's an old saying, you all may not know what a drive-in is!

Sit down for a little laugh at my expense and hopefully some helpful info from y'all.

What a property is listed for nor what someone paid for a property, have anything at all to do with the value of a property.If a property has been sitting on the market for a long period of time, it's usually due to one of the following:Priced to highNo demand Something negative about the property

Just let her know that you live on the same street, this should make her feel more comfortable with you, and that you have noticed her house sitting vacant.

Absolutely spend a few hundred bucks sitting down with a RE attorney before you try any of this.