Sending a check and a contract to a potential seller

[Sandy Uhlmann]

I have been keeping an eye on a property that has been uninhabited for at least 5 years. It was completely gutted at t that time and since then no further work has been done on the property. Although the out of town owner hires someone to maintain gut the grass, the structure is becoming an eyesore as kids break windows, vines grow up the walls of the home, ext....The owner has hired a third party payment service to pay for the grass to be mowed, deal with the city code dept. ect...I have attempted to send letters to the owner via the third party payment company expressing my interest in purchasing the property and have spoke to the representative at the payment company who tells me that the owner does not want to call me at this time. I can't for the life of me figure out why someone would continue to pay for the upkeep of property that they haven't even done anything with for years.

My thoughts are that this owner is just too busy to mess with this house and doesn't even want to go through the hassle of trying to negotiate with me and sell it. I am wondering if I could just send him a contract, an offer and a check and see if by chance he takes it. (Jay DeCima does this frequently according to his books) My question is is this safe? Can someone just cash the check without signing the purchase contract at which point I would just be out all that cash? Please advise.