Taking Action! ... Now what?

[Jonathan Boyd]

Repeatedly I hear that the thing that sets real estate investors from investor wannabe's is action. So, with my limited resources and time, I'm taking action. But now I need help. There is a house in my neighborhood that is an eyesore. The old tenant has been gone a year, and they were the kind that brought the whole neighborhood down. Well, they left the place trashed, and now it sits empty. Neighborhood is pretty tight-nit, 90/10- buyers/renters, and everybody hates this property. So I figured I'll take action!

Based on recent sales and comps in my neighborhood, the ARV is around $84k. It needs about 30k rehab. From neighbors and county records, owner is a living trust for three brothers (all still alive). Story is, house has been in family forever, they let another family member (who trashed it) live there scott-free, and now it's empty.

I have the funds to purchase (using 70% rule to ballpark the purchase price) and the means to get it rehabbed. So, how do I approach the owners (trust). From what I can tell, they have a property they don't really want, they pay taxes on it, and everyone around it wants it taken care of. I would like to offer to buy it; however, I have no credibility or experience. Should I just send a letter with an offer to buy with a price listed? Or send a letter of intent and then go from there? Should I partner with someone who's done deals? I want to turn this into a rental. All fixed, it could garner $900/month gross rent. 

I'm just newbie trying to take the first steps from wannabe to investor, so any ideas or advice is great. Thanks.