Not to mention you can actually speak with a decision maker.

But emotions are not always the best decision makers.

I'm interested in how you found the property, what got you thinking it could be used for something besides its original design and if it turned it into a money maker.

So instead of looking for leads via the probate office, I instead researched homeowners who have passed away and verified their address with the county tax assessors website.Essentially my question is which method is going to be more effective: mailing marketing letters to the deceased's property and hope this gets forwarded to the heirs or decision makers in the process, or figuring out if the deceased has any children and mail marketing letters to these people (assuming I can find their address and that they are in fact the heirs).

The officer of the company who signed off on a deed or mortgage is usually the decision maker.

If you buy right, you can potentially turn your first home into $$ maker down the road to invest in future properties.

We have in Germany a homage to Google Streetview, the new Google Indoors comes.

The buyers in your market are the decision makers on how much rehab you need to do.

William Donaldson@ William Donaldson didn't point out the importance of reserves (aka savings account). have a good chunck initially & keep in mind if you buy a home at a good deal it more than likely will need $10-$15k in rehab/make rent ready mode.

Therefore, be sure that the envelope is hand-written.The decision maker may not be the one that reads it, but at least you know will know that it gets read!