You can also do a parcel search in the area and mark down all owners who are absentees.

Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meetSet up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsRead Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingIf you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select the name of that person which should appear below the comments box.

I am looking to expand my search further if needed.

I'm looking in the Baltimore area for possible buy-and-hold properties to rent out, but this question is general for any region.Let's say I've read around and looked in person and so I make a search on Zillow for a specific neighborhood I think is reasonable, say, 21212, with my maximum price of $150,000.What comes up is many properties, ranging from $30k to $130k.

A title search of the property would turn up most of those issues, but you may want a lawyer to look it over for you before you decide whether to buy.

Search forums for strategies on occupied homes bought at auction, its outside my wheelhouse.

Usually, you'd run a comps search without the feature and one with the feature and the difference in median value is the contributory value of the feature.

What do I do other than continuing my search for motivated sellers?

I would recommend searching around BP to get more information on these options. 

I live and am searching in Kootenai county, Idaho by the way.Any help would be greatly appreciated.