As a new investor, it has been the classic catch 22.

It looks pretty decent and a classic house, need some  modern cosmetic on it and some foundation work.

"gettingn in the back GORE" classic!

From classic "We buy houses" signs to Internet marketing with Craigslist.

However, I need some clarification on what your looking for when you say 'Absentee' owner- if your talking about vacant homes with the Tax and the Mailing address being the same then you're going to have to track the name on record down yourself (in my experience) However, as you may or may not know, if you're looking for absentee owners who may have a vacant INVESTMENT property, then the tax address and mailing address will be different as the tax bill will be sent to the owner's actual home address (not Renter's/ Subject House Address) In the essence of expediancy, trying to get a list of Tax Addresses and Real Address which are different is the smart approach IF you can create a contact/relationship with someone who will take the time to process your request as opposed to the classic clock-watcher city employee (zinger).

Your classic books and podcasts are great resources too.

In double fact, it's a terrible deal.This house for this price is a classic career-ending deal, even if you plan on living in it. 

We are starting our 2nd spec home build soon and i really like the simplicity and classic look of these homes.

It was your classic "house of cards" scenario.

classic.