FORECLOSURES & EXPENSES
Find out who owns the property and talk to them.

Find out where tax records are kept in your town and see what information there is, for example if taxes are being paid. The original mortgage document should be there and any liens. some records may be online. 

Find out which court house foreclosure information is kept. Those are public legal filings if you know how to get them you can get the whole file and read it. It will contain amounts owed to various people. 

Hire a title agent to do the work for you and explain the process.

Find a local lawyer that has done foreclosure work and hire them to explain the process to you. 

Find out where and how foreclosure auctions and tax sales take place. attend some an see if you understand what is going on, see if you can get written rules about how an auction is conducted. 

no holes in walls or missing light fixtures - cosmetic stuff is cheap to fix. stuff inside the walls or problems with the foundation are expensive problems. 

realtytrac.com may have information as to if there is a courthouse recort.