Whereas rehabbers are bringing tremendous value into an area that would otherwise be blighted by dilapidated, abandoned homes.I'd like to hear your thoughts on how to educate the masses on this key distinction, as well as any other opinions on flipping vs rehabbing or other terms that are used in your area.

But make sure you get the property inspected before purchase as you should with all properties (even more so on vacant abandoned homes)!

If the market crashes and my building value goes to ZERO, I still have all of my money out and unless people suddenly decided to abandon the Bay Area, I would have renters paying my mortgage. 

It's basically driving around & listing addresses for vacant/abandoned/distressed/boarded-up houses.

hi enrique. there are several ways to find flip houses. i do a lot of driving around and looking. even when i am not necessarily on a real estate mission, i look around. in summer, look for the houses with high grass, papers piled up on porches, and a general look of " not lived in". go to www.hud.gov. this is the website for the hud houses for sale. one good rule of thumb is that where there is one house abandoned, there is another. go look at each house on this list. then drive around the neighborhood. my bet is that you will find another one in the same neighborhood. go to you local municipality. ask them if they keep a record of houses that are vacant in the area. then go look at those houses. finding the owners to abandoned houses can be tricky, but not impossible. i an doing a flip house in buffalo, ny right now, i can tell you of 4 houses in the same neighborhood right now, that are NOT listed on the MLS. keep one thing in mind......" your best deals are the ones not listed".

If my business were structured like a bank, I wouldn't want a borrower in Iowa to default and leave me with a ugly house he just demo'ed and abandoned.  

It's hard to abandon the wish to time the market.

Hi,I found a couple of houses that I like they're abandoned I found the owners and now what do I say to get them to sell me the house for a cheap price.

This is why I only deal with failing companies & abandoned houses.I bought one at auction Tuesday and turns out that the owner still frequents the property.

Each state has laws regarding abandoned property.