I see these types of homes all the time and have tried many times [I even paid for a "Guru" course on Shadow Inventory] with no luck.Your best bet is to mail the owner that is on the tax records and hope they respond.Let me know if you have anything to sell.

Consider appreciation as a bonus and never bet on it.Houston is getting hard to find deal now. you are not alone. keep looking and you will find oneGood luck

Yeah, you bet.

Anyway my bets are on Overtown as well there is a real need for affordable housing in Miami for young professionals I hope to get into Overtown soon.

The best bet would be to contact the lien holder and see if they would accept a partial payment to release the lien from the property, but not from the brother individually.

I would be willing to bet its a huge hugeHUGE problem with moisture.

However, you will have learned an interesting angle that I bet the vast majority of agents won't know.

My in-progress rehab will hopefully hit that, and I think I'll be satisfied at those numbers as it's a mostly OO neighborhood with expected steady appreciation.Without knowing details of your market, I'd probably shoot to be all in at a max of $100-110K.

@Jody Young I tend to use the same kitchen appliances (during the last lowes sale - i bought 3 of each) I now have 2 of each still sitting in home waiting for the next house to progress further along to the install.  

I bet the seller would be motivated if you made a cash offer with no contingency and any weasel clause.Joe Gore