However, one of them still is valid and the tax payer listed on the lien is deceased (purchasing the property from her Son who 'inherited' the house).The Son feels that the lien should have been paid a while ago and perhaps the IRS simply failed to discharge it from record.

IMO it begins with an ethical conduct toward providing a service that employs a high degree of skill and/or knowledge.Seems there is a lack of knowledge that is simply compensated for by a high rate of interest and 5,6 or 10 points in making a loan decission, many seem to care less if the borrower succeeds or fails, so long as they are well secured to ensure the return of thier money with a high profit.

The sales prices simply do not match up with the rental amounts.

Code issues are one thing, but there are so many other items that you might find that simply are not adequate and must be replaced.

We both ended up winning since we both ended up saving some money.

Nothing is fool proof, but simply owning low cost rentals where you can afford to drop the rent and undercut most of the competition seems prudent.

If there is a filing agent on the owners behalf you can simply look up their name and contact them to get in touch with the owners.I also can do a tax search with a name that has an outdated address or no address to see if any other addresses pop up that they own.

I would be thrilled to have an unemployed tenant simply disappear and not cause damage!

You will most likely spend thousands more to not see a dime even if you win a judgment in court.

This is where you have an opportunity to fill a niche through your education, because the same knowledge that you will later use to recognize a good investment opportunity for yourself, you will be able to use to find deals for clients.I remember trying to explain to realtors what I want – this was not a winning strategy.