@Kevin Siedlecki if sellers need to sell they won't care about your credit If they just want to sell they will not sell it cheap enough for it to be a good deal You are looking for people that are motivated sellers Not people that just say they are motivated and then ask retail value for their house 

1. upload 3 to 5 craigslist ads per day, change the wording to suit the type of buyer you think would best fit into the neighborhood2. have an open house each weekend on a Sunday for a couple of hours, make sure its well advertised3. stage the house4. make sure the landscaping and curb appeal is beautiful5. make sure the utilities are on in the property and the air is on for retail homebuyers6. network with people who work with retail buyers, if there is a buyers assistance class/event locally go there with plenty of flyers.7. network with your local real estate investment groups, there are always agents around you work with real buyers

As for the mortgage vs owning the home in their name, I think most retail sellers would consider their home to be theirs in their name even if they have a mortgage. 

There is a lot of retail in this area and there are even new commercial developments going in nearby.There is a lot of demand to get to this area of town because of those retail services and it is relatively close to Germantown road, Walnut Grove road, Highway 240 and Highway 40.  

Even the commercial lending department, while focusing on cash flow and value, want to see experience, FICO, and enough cash flow to cover the mortgage and then some.So you want to ask for the commercial lending department of small local banks, not the mortgage department. 

What that would entail would be retail space, industrial and the most popular multi family consisting of 5 or more units.

The cheapest ceiling fans I have found that are not garbage are the hunter brand sold at menards probably carried at other retailer also.  

Many of the downtown department stores have been renovated for small hotels and condominiums.  

There's a whole department which handles these types of transactions which can help with more leads down the road.

This is great info - I myself am starting to explore auction properties (properties in my area are astronomically priced and margins are razor-thin for retail).