How can a person obtain possession of an abandoned house?

I'm interested in obtaining an abandoned house to renovate,possibly within the coming year upon my retirement,My concern is,what are the lagalities,how does one go about this?

First you go to a real estate attorney and order a title exam to find out who owns the house and what mortgages, attachments, executions and other liens encumber the property. This will also disclose any defects in the chain of title that need to be cured or insured over by a title insurance company.

If you can locate the owner, you tell him of your interest in the house and ask permission to have the house inspected by a structural engineer. (I am assuming that you don't plan to retain any of the cosmetic features and I further assume that the mechanical systems are worthless and will need to be replaced entirely.) If it isn't structurally sound, then you either are looking at a knockdown or investing considerable amounts of money into the house just to make it amenable to renovation.

After you have all this info, you need to speak to the architect and general contractor you would utilize in your renovation and get a clear sense of what this will all cost including their fees. Then you need to take all that data and speak to one or more real estate lenders who make acquisition and construction loans and find out what they would be willing to lend you and the schedule you would find yourself on. And don't forget insurance! It will be absolutely necessary and expensive!!

At this point, you can make a clean offer (if you haven't already done so with all the appropriate contingencies contained in the Offer/Purchase and Sales Agreement) and negotiate a P&S.

Good luck. I used to work for a fellow years ago who would do these renovations. His wife was a realtor and she would find these houses for them. She served as their general contractor, which they estimated saved 15% on each renovation, and he worked full-time as a chemical engineer and carried all the debt service. It's a bit riskier for you to undertake this project after retirement. Perhaps, you should hold title to the home in such a way as it limits your liability if there are any accidents during the renovation project? Kust a thought you should explore, but insurance if always the first line of defense.

Good Luck.

P.S. Buy an owner's policy of title insurance no matter what anyone else tells you. If there is a title problem, then they fix it at their expense. If you don't have a title insurance policy then it will may you thousands to retain an attorney to fix the problem and to sue the person(s) you believe is/are liable to you for damages. These attorneys fees are not recoverable either even should you prevail in a lawsuit. Always get the owner's policy of title insurance!

Ok, I am of no help at at all. I just wanted to say that is really sweet. I've always wanted to re-do an abandoned house. Good for you and good luck!

Call ur local real estate guy.

If the owner is not paying the local real estate taxes then it will be foreclosed on by the tax authorities. Talk to tax authorities. They will be able to tell you who owns the house and if it is in foreclosure proceedings.

You might be surprised how many people hold onto vacant houses and pay the taxes and such but they remain unused and vacant.

If this is the case then you can't force them to sell you the house.

it is actually quite difficult to do this...the fastest way is to do a title search and find the current title holder,then make an offer to buy the property...if this fails you check the tax records if the taxes have not been paid for more than 3 years you have the easiest way to go...you simply pay the taxes on the property and it in essence becomes yours...at least here in California that's how you can do it...some states require five years before you can claim a property...good luck

Start by talking to the city. If its been condemned more than likely the city gov owns it, and if th house is below code you may need to be a licensed and bonded contractor to take ownership. It varies city to city. Or, if you live outside america, look into squatter rights. You can obtain rights in some countries by simply breaking into and living there for a certain amount of time.

even if the home is abandoned as long as the property taxes are paid you still have to contact the title owner and buy it.
you can find the property owner, by property tax records. at your county offices. you wioll need the address of property and city.

The only way to obtain the house is to buy the house from the owner, which may be a person, an estate or a bank.

Your local real estate agent can determine who owns the property in seconds. although contacting them can be harder.