These are private corportations that should just go belly up and let their shareholders take the loss.

If the law was you must wear your pants at your waist, and not above your belly button.

@James BellI had a mortgage on a property in Cape Coral Florida and the FEDS filed civil and criminal forfeiture against it.

I don't really know the market, or the specific neighborhoods well, and was hoping to bounce ideas off local investors and do a little tangible driving for dollars work together to get the creative juices flowing. 

If you are wondering you have to shimmy into the darkness shown by that hole in picture two (about 2'x2') and then belly crawl hauling your wife's favorite electric fireplace behind you for about 31 ft over dirt, broken concrete, and discarded timber/refuse until you  get to the 1.5' by 1.5' space they hammered out of the stacked rock for access to the next crawl space.

@Annunciata R.Yea don't start a juice bar.

Since title stays in owners name with lease options, what happens if they go belly up and you took 5k from a buyer with an option to purchase your home?

Sure, you could juice things with leverage and do 'ok' but 1) it's harder to find banks that will lend on older properties and 2) loans with small valuations are costly on a percentage basis, and with a loan on a very cheap SFR, the property doesn't earn enough income to justify the time - do you want to run all over town for $100 per unit?

There is plenty of money to be made investing in equities, fixed-income, real estate, judgments, tax deeds, small businesses, pork bellies, etc.

There should be some juice in it.