Very discouraging and makes you want cruel and unusual punishment legal.  

Vacant or improved, the process and consequences are identical.Each State can have variation, especially in the time line, but:unpaid tax billings will produce a some point create a Tax Lien on the property, not the owner.after X years, the existing owner will get a Notice of Tax Sale and a date of the auctionIf the property is sold, the "punishment" is loss of the property and I've been told, there's no reporting to a Credit agency. 

If the second, then the higher chance that someone will get "punished" for the default. 

If you are a glutton for punishment....then go work for an investor doing inside sales.....calling for dollars....negotiate with them for a piece of the action...1% of a deal for buy and hold investor or whatever % makes sense to you...so you build some income or capital.If you like commercial....go in as a research assistant...either building databases or creating presentations for them.

The most satisfying punishment for what they are doing to you is the crappy life they're going to have to lead, caused by their irresponsibility and bad behavior. 

I still deal with this in the IT field, where agenda falls to my feet with great punishment.

Gaby: are you going back for more punishment???

Check local laws-I’m my state in Australia the landlord must provide facilities to dry clothing be that a cloths line or a dryer but they don’t need to provide a washing machine, seems weird but there it is.The catch 22 is that if you as the land lord provide it then you must maintain it- no good deed goes in punished after all.That said, you  can put terms in the lease that IF and additional appliance breaks you won’t replace it, as long as there is mutual agreement in the agreement at the onset. 

I want to do everything I can to pay for it or not be punished significantly by the debt in my life later.With all that information, is there anything I can do in real estate with no money?

:if he is advising you to settle with 17K he may very well be giving you good advice, especially if you got smashed in CT.Don’t know the circumstances, but don’t punish someone for giving honest advice you don’t like…good way to make things worse