Local abandon property

[Michael Bacile]

I’ve got a question about a local “abandoned” property in my home town. BACKSTORY: I’m 26 years old and I have fond memories of riding my bike around this home and looking in the windows thinking about camping out in there when I was young. It’s been uninhabited since I can remember. Easily 15+ years. 

HOME INFO: The home is 1935 built and smaller than 75% of the homes around it. It’s a 2/1 670 +\- sqft and for the most part the other homes are around 1000-1300sqft. Its got twice the lot size than most around it. It’s a wood framed home, on a nice road in a desirable neighborhood, the foundation looks okay and the roof has one sagging corner that isn’t the worse I’ve seen. Someone boarded up the windows a couple years ago and it’s finally being mowed as of a couple weeks ago. I looked on sites like Zillow and there is nothing really listed about the home. I also did a basic public search on the web with hardly any info. If i can find the owner to see if they are willing to let it go for cheap I’d love to have it. Im fully aware that it could be a can of worms. 

QUESTIONS: how can I get a ARV number when there aren't many homes like it around?

If you were interested in a home like this how would you go about finding the owner and some purchase steps with it being a buy owner situation? 

Im not necessarily looking to flip this home or anything. I’d like to just purchase it and fix it over time if the price is right, I’ve got a niece that is 13 with a hard life moving around with her mom at a whim. It would be a deep gratification to fix it up and Have a stable place for her to rent and start her adult life.