They are designed to help bring people together, not necessarily for agents to farm, but it never hurts to have some cards ready to hand out should someone ask.

Sutherland I would contact an appraiser with a MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute and pay them a consulting fee to evaluate the lease.  

The bubble burst in between then and now so I'm not sure how relevant those deals are.

She had heirs, but as I understood it over the phone, it sounded like this property never went through probate and a legal transfer of ownership hasn't been recorded since her passing.I understand that attempts have been made to get the local authorities to change the designated use to an easement.

You are asked to designate on the loan application whether or not you intend to occupy the property as a primary residence.  

As long as I provide clean, safe, habitable housing, I don’t have to worry about slum lords, because their tenants wind up being my tenants and if similar competition becomes an issue, than it’s up to me to either adjust my rents or provide better amenities, but as long as I have that control, I don’t have to worry about outside forces affecting my operations, which brings up another great quote by Sir Isaac Newton after he lost money in the South Sea Bubble, “I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men.”The other reasons real estate is a superior investment is because I can get a loan from my banker to help me purchase real estate.

Look to the motive of those "teaching" notes, you may get enough on how to find a note but my guess is that the teaching is designed to bring you back to them when there is an issue and then deal with or through them.

I used to design high-rise structures in New York City as a Structural Engineer and currently I work as Sales Engineer in the construction industry.I have purchased an investment unit in Chicago which I also manage.  

Are you strong in design or construction?

I think your biggest challenge would be during your renovation phase once the deal is found - finding the right contractors, deciding on designs/upgrades that buyers are looking for etc.