You need to get up to speed and know your market first.  

My suggestions for buyers: Consider highlighting -the CASH aspect of the transaction, -the speed in which you can transact the property, -the funds are in a local escrow right now -you may considered escrowing/depositing funds in their bankThis may be redundant, but remember, have a bear market / not a bull market game plan in advance, You could indeed own this property and you will be in the same bear market the bank is in.

i have livonia build dept on speed dial.it sounds like you have never done this. you or the bank need to call livonia and they do a formal report ($400). then you close. then you fix those items. then they have to approve before you can rent it.noone else can "inspect" the property and know what they will call out.

NoteExpo in Dallas is another excellent conference, held by Eddie Speed's group.

Dana, did you use any tutorials to get up to speed?  

Your time here will be well spent.Since your interest lies in flips I added the below links to help you get up to speed and gain confidence to carry out a transaction.Frankly, you are nervous because your knowledge base is lacking and that plays on your mindset and thus invokes a lack of confidence.So, as @Christopher Brainard rightly said you need to educate yourself and don't rush to make a purchase because you think you have to......do so when you are fully prepared.http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/01/07/flipping-houses/ (ultimate step by step guide to flips)https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/05/18/how-to-flip-houses-3/ (5 steps to flipping)https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2010/4/28/the-8-rules-for-flipping-in-2010/ (The 8 rules for flipping - J.

You can for sure do it without a mentor but I recommend going to local real estate investor meetups and maybe finding one, it can really speed up your progress.A lot of the houses I saw with my mentor were bank-owned vacant properties. 

[Just read newspapers, housing reports, etc and you should be fairly up to speed.]But it can be quite hard to predict the FUTURE - especially with the uncertainty going on in today's market.

I did look up the tenant's record again and see only a speeding ticket so there doesn't appear to be an active judgement or even a court case regarding this.The tenant has always paid on time and does well enough with care of the property.

Speeding is illegal.