She has seven ash trees in her yard.

I have always done a lot of the work around my house - plumbing, carpentry, electrical, painting, and yard work - and am not afraid to try to fix an appliance when necessary.  

What are you trying to salvage - the house, their equity, their personal possessions, something else?

This had more and less been a hoarder house and had been vacant for 15 years.The one bath was not in great shape...There was a garage with an apartment in the back yard that was rotting to the ground, neighbors complained of rats coming out of it and tree's had grown through the roof in multiple places. 

i've always done the exact amount on the POF letter. esp if you're trying to get a lower price, not the asking price. it's like offering someone $2 for something at a yard sale and then asking for change for a $20. just bad bargaining etiquette in my opinion.

There have been a couple properties i was interested in that were under contact , but when i drive past the properties,  the for sale signs are still in the yard and nothing is happening at the property.

How to start (especially because i'm a broke college student lol), where to start etc... the whole nine yards.

They can't easily get loans for previously owned homes, may not have good credit history or have had to start over due to bankruptcy or divorce, prefer to live using cash instead of credit or banks, want / need mobility, want some yard space, enjoy communal living, dislike urban living, want to save money or have limited income, want to live simply, etc...

any idea what cap rates are in Bremerton--near the ship yard.  

Basically she determined that there were millions of places that you could camp (including people's yards), but no consolidated place to find them all.