Philadelphia has one of the highest rates of vacant and abandoned properties in the country and with a surplus of more than 26,000 vacant properties to choose from the rising challenge of the foreclosure market will soon add to the amount of properties available. Most of the properties are sections of the city where section 8 housing is prevelent and the purchase and low cost rehab of these vacant properties offers one way for investors to capitalize on these properties. Investors can purchase these homes, typically in need of total renovation, for a few thousand dollars. At times the tax burden on the house outweighs the homes value but in the rising home values of Philadelphia the investors can cut a great deal and carry the additional tax lien and use the monthly rent to pay down the debt.

Now that the age of Philadelphia is starting to show certain areas of the city are beginning to show more vacant properties than ever before. For certain communities having just one vacant property used to be an unsightly addition and something to be handled but now that one property has turned to several the residents are beginning to see a real problem that must be dealt with immediately. The Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI) works to improve large sections of the city but it's the random house in the middle of a row that brings down the value of the neighboring homes by typically $7,000 or more.

Investors can quickly turn hero by buying and renovating the property and helping to improve the neighborhood. But ultimately when you access the Philadelphia public records or the Board of Revision of Taxes the information is so out of date that contacting the owner to make a deal on buying it is the ultimate challenge. Once these owners can be found making a deal on a home they left for abandon is the easy part.

So where can an investor find a vacant property and more importantly where can they find the owner. The first answer is easy. You can drive down most streets of Philadelphia and at some point you will find a vacant, boarded up property begging for renovation. At times you will find several properties on the same block that can be bought and result in a total transformation of a block. The second question is more challenging and can be more frustrating and expensive for investors who don't know where to begin. There are many online resources that will find the person you are looking for and charge you according to how much information you want. Sometimes the information is also outdated and since the sites charge no matter if they give updated information or not, investors can spend a lot of money which adds to the cost of aquisition. Of course they still have to contact the owner and make a deal.

Now that the issue has become borderline severe, there are some companies looking to capitalize on the locating of these owners. It is a specialty service that few can do well. Many investors have been given information that they could have found with a little detective work of their own using publicly available information. But there are a few companies that offer great information that can quickly lead the investor to contact the owner and make a deal. Most investors don't have the time or the expertise to begin the process leaving the sheriff sale as their only source of buying these properties. Though given the opportunity, many of them would rather buy the property before the sheriff sale to avoid the possibility of being outbid on the more lucrative investment properties.

If you are an investor and are looking to learn more about the vacant property issue in Philadelphia and where it offers many opportunities you may contact the author of this article.