both replies are right, stephen. you have to find the owner, make an offer and close the deal. make sure the offer includes the back taxes. i. e., if the house is worth $10,000 and they owe $5000 in back taxes, offer $5000 plus you assume the back taxes. he is a trick not mentioned yet. some, not all, local governments will allow the owner to make a payment arrangement on the back taxes. you simply just have to go into the treasurers office and ask. here in western new york, there is one local that will allow you to put just 25% down and make payments for the next year and a half. you do NOT have to tell the current owner about this. if you structure your deal to include you assuming the back taxes, you are not stating that you will pay them up front, you merely stated that you will assume responsibility for them. check with the local authorities and see if you can work such a deal

E.

Rich Dad Poor DadRich Dads Cash Flow QuadrantRich Dads Increase your financial IQThe Real Book of Real EstateThe ABC’s of RE InvestingThe ABC’s of PMRich Dad RE Tax AdvantagesThe E-MythThe 4 Hour Work Weekhttp://flip2freedomacademy.com - free e-bookFlip2freedom episode 77[http://www.flip2freedom.com/a-3-step-formula-to-a-successful-balanced-and-insanely-profitable-2012/] - podcast - LISTEN TO THIS TODAY!

Easy to slip into the wallet, hard to lose.

You will more than likely need to depreciate those expenses over 27.5 years.Additionally, if the property is rental property, 9 times out of 10 it will be reported on schedule E as passive income/loss, not on schedule C as profit/loss from business.

In the past, our accountant assigned equipment purchases to an arbitrary house (under schedule E), and simply divided general expenses evenly between all houses. 

The podcasts are particularly popular. 

Homesearch is one of the larger popular auction sites for REO's.  

HiddenBrooke is a golf course community in Vallejo that's popular with that group. 

Brandon Turner has an excellent (and very short) e-book on how he would do it.