this actually happened with the obama administration years ago.these are what you are finding, troy. these houses are less than desirable and the bank, well frankly, " has bigger fish to fry". so these houses sit and sit and sit. get run down, and pretty soon, when the bank wakes up and realizes they have thousands of dollars in carrying costs invested in this house, they discover that they will never get anywhere near the amount that they have invested in the house back to them, so they " drop" the house. thats right, they write it off. they stop paying someone to check on it every 2 weeks, they stop paying someone to mow the lawn, etc. and they stop paying the taxes.my advice to you, call and ask the bank if they have " released the lien or mortgage" back to the original owner. some banks will tell you, others will not. then, call the local tax authority. ask how many years ago the last taxes were paid on the house and who paid them. if it was a bank, and they stopped paying the taxes, well, there is your first sign that the bank has dropped the house. they aren't going to keep paying the taxes on a house that they no longer want, are they?

There is a tax form (W7) they need to complete to get them a ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) for tax purposes since they don't have a SS #.......but that can be done after they invest and before tax returns are filed by the partnership.  

Or are they typically sold individually?

As others have mentioned, learn the fundamentals and analyze each property individually.

Keep in mind that each individual property has different utility bills (due to energy efficiency, possible water leaks, square footage, number of tenants, etc)  Calling the utility company will at least give you a starting point. 

But, are the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) and Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) easy to deal with? 

I have called several individuals in San Antonio from homes I have found in Craigslist but so far I have not been able to pin a house down. 

I'd like to connect with anybody on here, and especially the individuals from San Antonio and nearby areas.

I would love to network with other individuals around the area that understand creative real estate investing & other wholesalers as well.

Who has the authority to deal with a potential buyer?