Need help acquiring a foreclosure

[Dustin Frank]

Hello BP, I was doorknocking today and several neighbors pointed me in the direction of an abandoned house. They said an old lady lived there but the house has been vacant for over a year. One neighbor told me the house was being foreclosed on and another neighbor told me it was the only drug house left in the neighborhood. After telling them that I am wanting to purchase property in the neighborhood I had three different people tell me that I should "do something about it" and "somebody should flip that house." The house is not listed and I get the impression that the owners have passed away. How would I go about acquiring such property? What should be my first step?

[Jonathan Taylor Smith]

@Dustin Frank - I've used Spokeo.com in such a situation to lookup the owner's contact information (starting with tax records) and then locating relatives or associates of that person. I'm also a Realtor, so MLS & Realist can often shed some light on who the lender is. That can also be obtained from Register of Deeds office in many jurisdictions. Once you find out who the lender is, you must then learn who handles foreclosure listings for that lender, but best if you can obtain it BEFORE it goes to foreclosure from the controlling relative or executor of estate if the person has died. Are taxes current on the property?