All this within weeks of our failed court attempt to evict him.CAN ANYONE RECOMMEND A GOOD ATTORNEY IN HOUSTON TO GET THIS GUY OUT!?

Would you take a vacation day from work to go to court? 

Before they go to court?

It performs thorough background and credit check by scouring court records and documents 

Personally, the risk of losing an entire years profit due to an unforeseen maintenance issue along with paying higher aquisition costs as a percentage of value (since many fees are fixed regardless of price) makes investing closer to home more appealing to me.

I'd love to buy the lot (have been told by another neighbor that they won't sell).Can I hire someone to cut the ivy, if they won't do it, and then take them to court to get the funds back?

Your (Virginia) attorney will probably point out the following to you...1) if you do not register (as a foreign entity), or set up a Virginia entity, you risk having all your agreements being voided should you wind up in court;2) An S-Corp can not own another S-Corp3) For tax reasons, you never want to hold title ina C-Corp (go talk to your CPA to better understand why), therefore, if you decide to set up a new (Virginia) entity, it will most likely be an LLC4) Virginia has EXTREMELY aggressive taxing authorities, so if you do require a physical office don't forget to register and get your local business license.P.s.

Will I run into problems in court based upon the fact that I placed it in their mailbox vs taping to the front door (which wasn't feasible due to the rain?)  

I knew the seller was going through a divorce and I was under the impression she had a court order to sell all her (four) properties.  

I have been going to the court house for probat files and writing down the executors (inheritor) name so I can mail them.