Vacant Property offer template

[Mike Berns]

I live next door to a brick 2-flat in Chicago that has been vacant for 20 years. The owner stops by to cut the grass and pick up the mail once every few weeks. He comes during the day when I'm at work so seeing him in person is tough. From what I've gathered from talking to my neighbors is that the owner has not gone inside the property for 20 years, all utilities have been shut off, the owner is 70 years old, and none of the neighbors talk to him enough anymore to know where he currently lives, but they know he has turned down previous offers because he doesn't want the property to get torn down.

I can't stop dreaming about owning this property. I want to send him a letter saying how I'm interested in purchasing the property and restoring it, not tearing it down. does anyone have a template that they use to send to vacant properties that I can see and add to it? Do I just express my interest in the initial letter or do I go as far as putting a dollar amount to what I'm willing to pay?