What would you do, Flip, Hold or Walk away

[Stephen Aki]

OK, so being the newbie here I did a search for the situation I am looking at but didn't really find anything.  So I will throw it out to the collective knowledge and experience of the Bigger Pockets populace.  I stumbled upon a house in a B- neighborhood that is currently vacant and has been for a bit. After doing some checking I found that the house was bought by a contracting company in 2016 for $85k.  

Since then, the taxes have not been paid and there is a tax certificate against it ($4933.51 owed).  Additionally, I can find the name of the company in Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulations (DBPR) but they have two addresses listed and, I can't find them anywhere else. I did find the company owner's name and am trying to find a phone number but do know where he lives based on tax records (this is what happens when a former Army strategic planner does the digging).

What I want to do is make him an offer to buy the house but I am not sure how to approach it.  Additionally, looking at sales comps and rents I'm not sure which would be better, flip or hold.  Sale comps run between $70k and $155 and I can probably get about $125 for it.  Rents run between $975 and $1478(avg) with a median of $1279.  I don't know how long the property has been vacant but I will probably talk to the neighbors today.  I'm picking up a project boat down the street from the house so figure I'll go knock on doors.  

Assuming that there is no more than $10k in reno costs, I could potentially flip it for $30k or, I could try to rent it for $1200.  There aren't a lot of houses for rent in the area, lots of apartments and duplexes.  I would say that this is a low to lower middle class area, it is close to the local schools and shopping and within a 1/4 mile of a main road artery that connects the area going north and south.  

Given all this, thoughts on flipping, holding or walking away and not bothering?  This would be my first investment but before I jump in I want to get a feel from the group.  Any and all feedback is appreciated.