From: "Canzie" 
Newsgroups: misc.invest.real-estate
Subject: PA Home w/back taxes, abandoned, condemned - HELP
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 18:02:13 GMT

A home 3 doors down from me is identical to mine, 75 years old, 4br, 2 bath,
single family residence.

Owner of record has not paid taxes in 7 years, files BK every 6 months (none
have ever come to fruition, all have been dismissed)

There is no mortgage on the property, but taxes are over 20k.

To make this more fun, person living there was, well, nuts.  As in, like you
read in the papers, she had 100 cats, all living indoors.  Town finally
condemned the building as unsafe, and won't allow registered owner back in
until problems are rectified.  Home has now been empty for a year.

Home is in a market/area of PA where all the homes sell for $175-200k.

I have mailed the owner with an offer to buy the property (no response,
mailing address is a PO box in my town) I have contacted her last-known
attorney in BK to make the same offer, but he has lost track of the client.

Here is the question - How can I buy this house?  I've spoken with the tax
office, they will allow me to pay taxes, but then can I have a priority lien
still?  Time/legal fees are really not an issue if the price is right (as in
I don't mind starting a 2-year process to own the home)  But what is the
best way to move forward?

Yes, I am going to contact an attorney, without any doubt, but just wanted
to hear ideas first.