I would never depend on a city or small government to do something.

And on my subdivisions I am currently building I do not record CCR's or create a HOA.. its only mandatory if we do a PUD... since I am building all the homes and ( praise the LORD almightly ) they all pre sold we are in and out of 27 homes in one year.. and I just leave the folks to self govern themselves.. there are actually a lot of buyers ( at least at these price points starter homes here  350 to 400k) that prefer NO HOA

I am not an investor, I am a high school educated self made businessman who made the difficult journey and transition from government assistance apartments as a kid to the proverbial country club.  

The US government has is own calculator to compare the daily APOR and the rate you want to charge to a homeowner so that you can stay within, or know what category, you loan is falling under.

@Ron Yanuszewski  It's not really the government that's involved in your loan process.  

They did not have good rental records for the 900 apparently tenant pays half and government pays half.

Just like I'd love a cheap place in Monaco, but I'm not entitled to have it for life from some governing body. 

First step is to check with any government agencies that would have records on the wells.. hopefully they will, as well as an as-built so you know which is which.Then, unless your budget is really tight, hire a well company to come trouble shoot the well, find out which one is flowing, get a pump installed....

Make friends increase your circle of influence - Hire a private detective - they are good at finding people (give his a piece of the profits)Check the death notices or search government record for certificates of death, check the obituary for next of kin - contact them. 

Shoot, one of them (w/almost 200K student loan debt (undergrad and grad)) was even able to get a down payment assistance grant from a local community lender (She is an attorney for a local government agency).