New Member introduction plus Newbie Questions

[Josh Michel]

Hello BP!

I'm Josh.  I'm from the South Jersey / Philadelphia area.  I work full time in an industry unrelated to real estate.  I'm looking to become a buy and hold investor in multi-family units.  I've looked on and off for a few years now and while I've gone to contract on a few properties there has always been a snag that's held up closing resulting in no sale.  These have ranged from poor inspections to low bank appraisals.

My current goal is to continue learning more.  Every day I listen to 2-3 BP podcasts on my way to and from work and while running various errands.  I try to learn as much as I can and I feel like just from listening I'm much more savvy than I was even 3 months ago.  That said I realize I'm still a total newbie.

I'm trying NOT to follow every shiny object I see, but that can be difficult as when I look around lately I feel like I'm seeing opportunity everywhere EXCEPT buy and hold on multi-family properties.

My most recent questions is this.  There are a few foreclosures in my area that I know of that have been off the market for years.  They're bank owned properties, but they aren't even listed.  How do I go about trying to purchase them to hopefully flip.  In my area when you search county tax records it doesn't show the bank as the owner, but instead the previous owner.  This seems to be the case for all ROE property in my area.

What other methods can I use to find the actual owner of these property?  Once I find them, what is the best method for trying to see a property and make an offer. One in particular has  been empty since around 2008 and the taxes are $6,000 per year.   I'm sure a bank would love to get it off its books, especially since it is a smaller 3/1 home.

Thank you BP forums for your help.  Again, I'm fairly new, but based on all the podcasts I've listened to, I'll thank you in advance for your help and support.  You all seem like a great bunch of investors.

Thanks again,

- Josh