I suggest you review recorded documents such as acquisition deed, old mortgages, liens and notices, etc.I use skip tracing software and licensed PI's to find owners and heirs when social media does not produce useful contact info first.

I'm not dead set on seconds only, just looking for something to get started with that will produce a positive cash flow with a lower entry cost.

Before you put 5 offers in though, think about the ways that a rental property produces income.  

I am a freshly retired school teacher ready to bring better homes to our communities and produce more than a teacher's salary.

My goal is to obtain at least 1 rental property per year along with flipping 2 properties in order to produce cash flow.

The reason why you wouldn't want to hold passive income producing assets in an S-Corp is that the S-Corp is created for non-passive activities.  

I only purchase property that are income producing at closing and that need a little bit of work.  

In San Pedro it's about producing the biggest booms.

If you can spare the time I've also found that watching/listening to the webinars that the sites usually produce on each deal is worthwhile in order to get a flavor for the sponsor in person (so to speak) and see how he/she fields questions from potential investors. 

I'm looking to protect my capital as much as possible to invest in my business which produces high yield residuals.