That's why we, and I'll bet you as well, will never wire funds anywhere at any time without a contract for purchase in our files to serve as an identification. 

In fact, after all the time, effort & money you'll have into it, I'd bet on you having a hard time letting it go.

A title company would be best bet to go through or you can call the country to find liens.the county does have a few sites that are useful in researching properties. country recorder (you can search for liens here, but if they are very recent they may not show)http://www.lcrecorder.com/reco...you can also call or email the recorder, contact info is here:https://www.lakecountyin.org/p...there is also the assessor site:http://counties.xsoftin.com/la...

The prices are good there so I know it is a safe bet, but I may want to diversify into other markets.

It seems like hard money is your best bet if you can qualify for a regular loan after I don’t see why not.

Place ads on every platform you can where home buyers could be looking for an inexpensive home.

Meetup.com or the Events tab would be the bet resource for you. 

And what platforms can I use?

Not to mention a couple of $4.00 coffees a day and no clue what brown bagging is.I'd bet that most college grads spent more time learning the ins and outs of student loans than budgeting and financial planning.  

Talk with a local lender.You'll likely need 6 months to refinance.I bet you can do better than 5% on the refi.