The city wants to tear the property and surrounding properties down Zillow said it’s worth 38000The city offer me 13000.I could use some adviceHard to give advice with limited information, but as a general rule, the longer you wait and the further down the line their project is the more valuable your property will be to them.Zillow (and all automatic online) estimates are very unreliable, so don't base on that.

Start small, be patient, and stay connected with local meetups and online investor communities for support. 

What is the best way to go about finding these property listings online before they go to the auctions?

But damned if I can find anything online about landlords using it!

My recommendation would be to get approved as a Landlord, contact the director's office and request that an inspection be completed before a tenant is selected (sometimes they will do this as long as you select a tenant within 14 days - which you want anyways), and have an online application and screening resource in place.  

Spend at least 2 hours per day researching online about your desired investment strategies.

Documenting your journey online or engaging on LinkedIn can also help expand your network.

Quote from @Zach Howard: Quote from @Jonathan Greene: If you are looking at properties in the US only on Zillow, and not seeing them in person (I know you are in Hong Kong), this is just an effort in futility because you can't underwrite single-family or small multifamily deals only online.

I just stumbled upon it online and I’m trying to research it myself. 

Then you'll need to find land, acquire it, find a spec home buyer and set up meetings to design plans or buy a set online with mods.