I lived and basically grew up in the Napa valley.. not saying this is Napa.. but long term hold could be the same.. buy some good grape ground..

But you need to know Basic RE valuation, your market, repair costs, and have a list of buyers (often investors) who are willing, ready and able to close. 

Leave the basics. do a detailed inventory for your stuff like an excel sheet with # and condition ( no scratches, stains, burns).

Actually, it's basically the motto of ponzy schemes, those are the only ones ever placing "guaranteed" returns above fed rate. 

Stick to a qualifier, set a minimum income such as 35 times the rent, minimum credit score such as 650 and no delinquencies in the last 3 years, no landlord and tenant court, at least 2 years work history, etc...

The question:Should I not respond and let the court do its thing?

I’ll try to get reimbursement for expenses since taking this down another road by going to court for specific performance and forcing the sale of the house would likely leave them in bankruptcy.

So basically the question I have is what can I charge them for us to clean the house? 

Here is a link:http://www.masslandrecords.com/MiddlesexNorth/then in the upper left corner hover over "Search Criteria"  From the dropdown under "Recorded Land" choose "Property Search" or under "Registered Land" choose "Property Search" (depends on whether it went through land court or not, such as a foreclosure deed.A search bar will appear for Street Number, Street Name, and TownHave at it.Alternatively, although not as up to date as the Registry of Deeds, the Tax Assessor databases will have owner information. 

I'm also a Veteran Marine.My first property: Long story short, I'm basically purchasing my parents house, because they're moving out of the country, at a big discount and will be renting it out.