With decreased inventory hit the market and people who need housing are still going to need a house, I think that's why I don't see much price drop yet.

If you are worried about someone trying to muscle you out of your deal or out bid you after your seller signs it you can have them sign it with a notary and have that purchase agreement recorded at the county recorders which would cloud title.

After you know all those laws, I would talk with the seller about notifying the tenant that you will only (this can be done through the contract) be purchasing the property if they evict the tenant in the time period of escrow, and the unit needs to be investigated while in escrow, or you want a reduction in price due to the lack of knowledge of that unit.I have inherited a tenant and California is way different and more strict with tenant/landlord laws than most states, but luckily the tenant left without too much muscle (figuratively speaking).

Expect to need cash for this to work* You are a developer, buying properties that are in significant distress, scraping them, and building new properties that can sell for top dollarPersonally, the first two points are true for me, and I expect that over a long period of time, like 20+ years, patient Denver investors will be rewarded more so than investors in other parts of the country.

I would like to lay out a scenario, and see you guys flex your BP muscles and show me the way. 

Your wife and sister in law need to decide who will quarterback the transition team (family,lawyers,doctors,property managers,accounting,funeral arrangements,etc).Whomever is the emotionally strongest and most well organized person should be taking the lead in all legal decisions when their father is unable to in the future.After he passes there is going to be a ton of work to do so get good professionals to help you.Your going to need to evaluate the current situation of the rental properties and the quality of the property management and tenants.Is your father in law using an LLC (limited liability corporation) to run his rental business and to protect his assets?

Thank goodness haven't had to use it so just keeping our fingers crossed that it works like it says it does :-) if we were to need it. 

You said the home is free and clear so that mean you are going to need to bring a big chunk of money to the table for owner finance because they can sell for cash verse taking a chance on someone to make payments. 

A wholesale property generally is going to need work and as others have pointed out, conventional lenders won't lend on a fixer.

You're going to need to find trustworthy people and establish a working relationship with them.