Here's an article with details, and be sure to read the comments as well as they are extremely informative.http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/08/17...

On an extremely old building, an abundance of caution is going to be required, lest it result in an accident, and they are looking at their liability if they miss something.

The courts are full of such lawsuits.Seeking advice from an attorney in the area where the property is located can be an extremely wise and very economical decision considering the alternative.

Any long distance investing is extremely challenging, even for the best skilled investor.Moreover, there are many very experienced investors with knowledge and history that are your competitors and may be your sellers.

If the seller discontinues property insurance at all the lender will know (and apply their own at an extremely high cost).    

That's how the situation would be handled in an extreme case.Please let me know if there is any additional information I may be able to provide.

I can only relay one experience with an auction...I was the listing agent of a bank-owned property that was taken off the market because it didn't sell and was sent to auction.The opening bid was extremely low but the fine print on the auction house website read that final bids were subject to bank approval.

I'm thinking about touring as many of these multis as I can and just offering extreme low-ball offers until someone bites.

We cannot confirm that these people are shills, but we do ask that you heed extreme caution when considering the opinions of members without a history on this or other sites.

That is NOT what they would want, and since closing would be delayed, could be so much more extremely expensive.