I'm also getting started in commercial real estate sales in the San Francisco area and have established some significant goals for myself.Primarily, I aim to grow sales and generate $1M+ in my mid to late twenties (I have a plan and coach, but I won't list it here as I am focusing on the investment aspect).

Obviously, you will be lost without a working knowledge your probate laws concerning sale of real estate.Alternatively, once you know what info you want from each file, you can either train someone to pull the info (custom, to your specs) or perhaps find a local researcher who already pulls much of the same data for other clients (which may include credit companies, heir finders, etc.).More and more jurisdictions are providing online access to cases, however I'm not aware of any (yet) that make data concerning PR's and heirs' addresses available (for privacy reasons, no doubt).I used commercial, professional probate researches on and off for about twenty years and have come to this conclusion: it's never as good as data that you've pulled yourself but it's certainly a better use of my time.Irrespective of the methods or strategies that you employ to pull data, you will also need a way to store and retrieve the info on your end as well know what to say when talking to a personal rep.I called on a yellow letter that I received as a PR (admin) once and the sender was totally unprepared for my call.

I am in my early twenties and work at a structural engineering firm. 

Dawn , I'm still reading through ebay adFirst thing that stuck out to me is the words " Washington Park neighborhood "Reasoning it stuck out to me is Habitat of HumanityFYI - I typically volunteer for Habitat several times a year -They just announce a 3 to 4 year renovation of Washington areaEstimate around twenty million over next few years via WISC news television stations , fyi

Start digging around for good deals on a place that you could live in and rent part of it out (roomates, etc.).You'd end up getting a crash course in finding and buying, plus the adventures in owning and fixing, and hopefully living for less because others would help you pay for the place.If I was starting in my twenties, I'd pull some variation of this!

I'm in my early twenties and just trying to find my way in life.

Families who might have stayed may move out, but some people are lifers, and the younger crowds all seem to know that living in a city in your twenties is great(maybe not financially).

And the price is right (twenty bucks or so online or at the Big Box store).

If you are twenty years old and you have potentially 40 years of investment ahead of you, It doesn't really matter what you invest in (RE, Stocks, mutual funds, etc) as long as it is solid valuable investment.

However I have always assumed that the Detroit market will come roaring back someday (soon or in a decade or two, not sure) and I'm jealous of those who know the market well and can invest strategically.