Reaching Out To Owner of Vacant Home

[Andrew Champion]

Hello everyone. I have found a distressed home in my area that I am interested in buying for a live in flip. The house has weeds grown up and is very obviously vacant. I was able to find the owners contact information online as well as their primary address. The owner is an older gentleman that lives with a relative that appears to be his son.

What suggestions do you have for reaching out to someone out of the blue? Would a phone call be best to start or perhaps a letter to their primary residence? Any tips on what to say and what NOT to say? Thank you all in advance!