If not the tax notices must be sent somewhere and the local county treasurer should have the last address. 

I'd make a request under the Freedom of Information Act to the treasurer (or whatever dept collects the taxes) for the name and address of the person who made payment and a copy of the check if that is how it was paid.

It's like treasure hunting. 

Your 10 year scenario plays well into that idea.A couple more things:1.   8% mortgage rate would translate to 6+% rate on 30 yr US Treasures.

The notion that finding a good market is just jumping online, see what some people say and "pow" its a free treasure map to gold-rich-ground is naive at best.

.* The City has grossly mismanaged The West Side Market, a national treasure, driving many legacy vendors out of business.* City Council is considering foolish anti-short-term-rental legislation that would be a major blow to the city's tourism-dependent economy (yeah I'm biased as an owner of an STR management company)All that being said, I still think Cleveland is a fantastic place for real estate investment.

It will cost time and treasure to get things setup correctly. 

If there is treasure in each market, some guarded by bears, others guarded by dragons, why not go after the bears first?

The law, passed in 1999 in an attempt to accelerate the rehabilitation of abandoned properties, empowers county treasurers to act as debt collectors.

If you can buy right with the appropriate budget to provide all of the updates, they can be a real treasure.