@harry @Harry Caseone other way is to mail out 3000 letters / postcards to older homes where the owner has owned for a long time.

Do you own any property currently?

They are getting a leveraged cash on cash return of less than the 10 year treasury yield with the added risk of owning and managing real estate. 

new owner / successful bidder now owns the property free of that loan.

If you seriously want to clean this up and are willing to take a risk, I would absolutely switch things into my name and begin taking care of the property as my own...it takes up to 10 years, but if you'd be willing to start caring for the property and were able to at least rent as a break even, pay taxes etc, then it's no big loss if the owner came back and stopped your claim.

If you have the time and experience, hiring your own subs (like plumbers, electricians, painters) can save you some money, but you'll need to manage the project yourself.

If payment isn't made OR if they aren't bought out in time, they own the common equity 100%.

They did this primarily because the VA loan is to help veterans own their primary residence. 

I heard a conversation taking place where it was said that a developer that was managing their own project had to have a GC license.

Most landlords in Milwaukee own less than 5 units and it is not a big focus in their lives, they are not on BP, they don't belong to the RPA etcIronically, for a couple bucks you can get a court-tested lease from Wisconsin Legal Blank or from the WRA.Court rulings like this also mean that it will make the market tighter for tenants as landlords are driven more and more into defensive strategies.