Here are the Big Six (6) reasons people abandon houses: 1) Skipped town 2) Substance abuse (drugs and alcohol) 3) Incarceration 4) Severe mental and emotional problems 5) Senility (senior may be residing in nearby facility) 6) Deceased The first thing I want to do when encountering an unoccupied property is to determine if it's an "orphan" or not.

Don't fall for the temptation to skip it this month and make it up next month.

If the buyer skips out you'll likely have additional cost to re-market, hold, etc.PS: Even if you are at the inspection, the inspector will still write what he wants - he is working for the buyer, not for you, so he may not be willing to discuss any of his findings with you at all.

Typically one should charge the first month rent, a security deposit equal to one month rent PLUS $50 [this will ensure they just don't skip out on the last month of rent].

Google "people search" or 'skip trace"If the foreclosure is final and the bank owns it, they probably won't be interested in talking to you.

If this is his full time job you should be able to skip the home inspection as he knows what to look for. 

Make sure that is 100% leak free before doing anything to the interior.I've seen plenty of places where folks do a ton of work and skip out on a $20 fix for the roof and ruin it all.

Can anyone recommend a tracing service that can find a tenant who may have skipped the state?

I want to pursue these leads further so does anyone know of a skip tracing program that can track down these hard to find owners?

Sometimes there are questions worded awkwardly and skipped for similar reasons, or the question is too vague, etc.