hi Attila - I'm also a newbie from Sacramento but you are way ahead of me in action.

The best way to cure this fear is to take ACTION!

This way you have enough of a spread to work with.I will say thisThank you for taking some action and overcoming any fears you may have had.

make sure you account for the time delay it takes for you to request the custodian to take action and it actually getting done.

Have a bias for action... even if you spend a little more for a deal, if it's a money-maker, you're still moving forward.  

Talk to bankers on the consumer side and commercial side.  

If a property appears neglected or vacant as @Ned Carey predicted, I check an online tax lien site, the auditors' site to estimate how much equity they may have, the scheduled sheriff sales site where the plaintiff is a clue to which are probably tax lien sales, and the Clerk of Courts which shows other foreclosure actions, judgments, etc.

Depending on where you obtained the credit report, many portals working directly with the agencies will offer the agency programs which allow a consumer to pretend to pay down or off other debts to see the score impact.  

A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action.

That would be abandonment in our jurisdiction and require a completely different course of action and would return our property to us sooner.