Better than my house :) I meant more the area - it's known as - ahem - "undesirable".

Also, may be land locked or have other access issues, utilities not available nearby, septic not possible, next to undesirable commercial, etc.

Mold issues, fire risk, undesirables.

Most of the duplexes in our market also tend to be in rental developments which are pretty undesirable for resale and leasing   

If lien holder on the abandoned property fail to enforce their liens within the 6 year statute of limitations, and if the absent owner does not show up within the 7 year period of adverse possession, my company could either simply continue to quietly collect rent without taking ownership or could quiet the title and sell the property.Eventual acquisition of clear title and sale of the property should not be necessary to make this plan succeed.My idea is that sufficient income would be achieved through managing the various abandoned properties for rents and resources.My company would be serving the community by providing needed low cost housing alternatives –often the opportunity to place or rent an RV on the vacant lots, we’d also provide rentals that tenants can pay for by using their own labor to improve the existing housing.Jobs would be created.And, I believe, the general community will be served by our company maintaining and improving a number of properties which would otherwise become waste.Governmental interaction would be avoided by indefinitely collecting rents on property abandoned by others or at least by not owning the properties until the very end.I would keep the visible business footprint as small as possible.Doubtless this plan involves more work than simpler forms of real estate investing.And working abandoned real estate will require creativity to improve and/or capitalize these properties which are considered undesirable even to their owners.I am attracted to working with abandoned real estate because it provides tremendous privacy.My company can control and collect rent on multiple properties where there is no public record of our interest.

I know the Cincy market only from the peripheral... 

Intangibles are whether it makes the property easier to rent, especially if it is near undesirable areas (highways, factories, other junky houses, etc). 

@Henry Tse, I'd say generally to focus on the peripheral sides of Austin - East or South.

There are LOTS of ways to make money in the real estate world...and there are lots of ways to help people by putting a roof over their head, by helping them sell an undesirable property or a burdensome property; by improving property; by loaning money; by partnering on projects; the list is very long.

I really don't see why you are telling me that Manila was a "undesirable" area 10 years ago.