@Tom Wood I am an investor looking for properties in Bloomfield, Windsor, West Hartford, East Hartford, Wethersfield and Glastonbury.

We never had hoods so you just don't have blight like this.. same with most West coast cities. other than LA and Oakland.This is really not that complicated in appraisal world its physical and economic obsolescence..

I'm in west Dallas, Oak Cliff to be exact. 

@Willem Young  The west coast states have all passed anti equity skimming and foreclosure rescue laws..

It's not far from downtown and Brady Street, which are both highly desirable areas, but it's to the West of the river.

The deals are better on the west side but the neighborhoods are more of a mixed bag.

That house you're looking at may sit just as it is for years to come because the owner isn't paying and the bank can't complete the foreclosure process because of defective paperwork due to the Wild Wild West lending practices that led to the recession. 

I'm looking to move further west (I live in North Las Vegas currently) and I was doing some digging and found myself in the "pre-foreclosure" area of one of the websites.

Real estate investing is sort of the Wild West and the more professional you are, the more willing people are to do business with you.

Search the same in your city or "West Michigan" etc.