Question about vacant house that the bank was unable to foreclose on.

[Sean Gibson]

I'm a cop in The Tampa Bay region and trying to get into wholesaling. The other day I went to a call about kids messing with a vacant house. Upon arrival the house was secured and appeared to be in great shape. I spoke with neighbor who said the owner killed himself 4 years ago and the family couldn't handle living there and abandoned it. I looked online and saw it was purchased for $25k and worth approximately$138k. I also observed BOA was unable to prosecute a foreclosure. From a recent police report I obtained a phone number for the widow and called her. I told her I was needing to know the owner's status so I can charge anyone found inside with a crime. She was out if town and wasn't sure what the status was but "something happened and the bank couldn't foreclose". I didn't mention anything about trying to sell or my intentions and she said she would call me back when she gets back in town and looks at her paperwork. My question (sorry this is long) is this a possibility and what process would I need being the bank unsuccessfully tried foreclosing?

[Sean Gibson]

In my line of work, "driving for dollars" is simple as it's just me on patrol. The last two days I drove every single street in my personal patrol zone (5 square miles) looking for and finding vacant homes. I am also really quick with using public resources (disclaimer) in researching those properties and later finding contact information on the owners. I'm sure my profession would also add credibility on prospective deals as I don't come as "a typical investor".