I certainly have a lot to learn, but my common sense tells me that just the fact that people are willing to pay such high rents is evidence enough of a housing shortage. ...For example, although still under-market because I want to keep my tenants, the rent on a little, nothing-special-about condo I own has increased by 56% just in the last 8 years.

But if you aren't just another agent among the 2 million registered agents, with just 5.5 million homes selling every year (2.75 homes per agent), then you should be able to ingratiate yourself with the seller with an evident marketing perspicacity. 

In most places, or at least traditionally, they go to the county court system and they present evidence that the mortgage has not been paid.

There is a good growing plan and migration is evident, from north and south and also the profile has changed from retirement to family oriented... job growth has been led by retails.

Do your research, get the evidence you need to create the confidence to get a deal under contract, and learn to become the best at that one thing.

(How to do this:  introduce yourself to the Housing Director (not the caseworker) - and verbally provide evidence of their rent price being below market rent.

Those zones have been a longstanding part of government efforts to revitalize distressed areas.Those efforts, however, show little clear evidence of success at improving the targeted neighborhoods.The federal government has failed to link the tax credit programs to improvements in communities.One reason for the middling results could be that the tax incentives were fairly modest and that the incentives targeted business owners rather than community members, according to the Congressional Research Service.A 2011 Congressional Research analysis was more direct: "Clearly, businesses and investors that received program benefits were made better off."

This is an oft-overlooked part of a real estate agent's job - to borrow from the above metaphor, your lawyer is 100% allowed to present evidence to a judge and jury that would support your legal position.

In short, you'll want the grandson's help because, even when a court action is unopposed, it is typically difficult to get a Court to Quiet Title without evidence to support your claim. 

Depending on his disability you can hire an investigator to follow him to get evidence its not real.