This has been mostly stated but.....Investigate the areas where you might want to buy. Find local real estate thug web sites to help your investigation. When you find something, go to the county where the property is located. Many county govs have web sites. Look up the owner of the property. BTW, this is a nice way to find out the tax related stuff, too. Call or send a letter and make an offer directly.

Also, look at FSBO sites. See the local news papers (on line, if possible)

The fewer barriers you put between yourself and the seller the less overhead you’ll pay. All the owner can do is say no, if they don't want to deal directly. In that case, if you want the place, and/or don’t want to deal directly, pick the real estate thug of your choice. When we bought, I contacted the seller’s broker directly. I told them that the only reason I contacted them rather than a 3rd party was to cut their commission in half, and discount my costs accordingly. The thug had 0 problem with my request.....

As a last note, consider whether you want a lot of property. Property taxes are based on $$ per sq foot, but just because something has a lot of property doesn’t mean it’s value will increase any faster than a comparable place with less property. With a lot of property, you end up being a cash cow for the county.

__________________
...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"