I visited the city assessor's office a few months back to find out who the owner was, turns out it was still listed under the previous owners name (a neighbor that personally knew).

I am sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you but they keep changing this site.  

And thanks to Joni and Matt M - I went back through the emails and did find a list of definitions tucked in with a bunch of other documents my agent had emailed over. 

I am interested in buying a property and I can get a note from my brother for the purchase, that he could then sell to get his capital back.

So thinking back to Rich Dad Poor Dad, instead of saying "I can't afford it", I've been asking myself "how can I afford it".

But we did not finish the back yard by the time the tenant moved in.  

When things are good people tend to be fine with that but if things go wrong or difficult decisions need to be made on what happens with an investment you need to go back to your signed paperwork on options.   

Also, this house has sentimental value to me as it's been in the family for generations and my mother was raised there.So instead of selling it to hungry developers, I want to buy it, I want to demo it and I want to build the duplex- but keeping it in the family and renting the units out (maybe one day I'll move back and live in 1 unit).  

As much as you want them to take down the cardboard or enter the unit, hold back and just let the process go through.

I'd probably offer closer to  15-20k and see what they come back with.