It sounds like back taxes are under $1,000.
I am not sure she is going to be able to sell it. She might want to demolish it and sell the land. All in, she would likely have about $10,000 in it. I don’t know what the land value is in this neighborhood. But I doubt she will get much more than that if it is unihabitable (which I assume).
Renovations on the house, depending on the condition, would easily run $40K. From just the outside I can see: Roofing, siding, paint, doors and windows. I assume the inside: Flooring throughout, drywall repair, light fixtures, HVAC, some plumbing, appliances and paint.
How could I make such an outrageous estimate? I just poured $15K as a minimum to make a rental property livable for the sale market. I took a bath on the sale and still owe the $15K. I cut losses and paid off the mortgage.
Still, I like her ambition. She should at least get her money out of the investment. If she makes $2,000 profit on it, she doubles her money. That’s a low risk, good bet any day.
Zillow.com shows the property is worth $18,500. Probably the value of the land only.