house for sale but scheduled to be torn down

i live in chicago and have found a house for sale that is in the courts to be torn down. it has been in the court 4 times and number 5 is coming up soon. The owner has been sitting on the land sense december and has done nothing to the house or the land. the house needs major renovations but it is sound and in a up in coming neighborhood. how should I tackle this problem? talk to the owner before the court date or after? and, if i do end up aquiring the house how do i approach the courts? i don't want them to tear down the house after i have just bought it.

[HomeGuru]

Hire a good home inspector first so you know what the real problems are.

thank you for the info. the house has a violation list 5 pages long so there are things wrong with the house. It's a diffinate gut job. My real question is how do i protect myself from the court and their bulldozers if i purchase the house?

[HomeGuru]

You may be getting into more than you can handle. Hire an attorney. My opinion is that I would look for another property.