The house was rough but livable, I met the owner at the property a few times last year. He agreed to rent the house back from me after the close. I changed the close date to be earlier than I wanted because he was going to run out of money and the utilities were all being cut off.  At that point he was looking at being left homeless and without any income. 

I let him stay in the house for free for six months.  I figured at least this would mean I wouldn't have to shovel snow or pay utilities.  Eventually he got sick and was involved in some ugly family issues. He vacated unexpectedly and some members of his family sold all the house furnishings and pretty much left junk everywhere. Eventually the neighbour complained and I had to clean up the yard.

These are the type of properties I can buy. In doing so, I provide a service other people wouldn't do.  I sort of get bothered by the attitude you find in some community associations about builders, including my own.  There is a common view that the builder ruins community character and offers little benefit. The community association wouldn't do a thing to help this person out - I wrote a huge cheque for the land and had to deal with the aftermath. 

If you know of someone in this type of situation you may need to contact a cash home buyer. They can make some of the problems go away by paying a fair price without conditions for a house.  The market is good right now for sellers.  It is harder to find people willing to sell than it was last year and prices are up. 

This nasty pile of junk is gone, moved temporarily into the garage.  When we do the demolition it will all get hauled to the landfill.  The landfill is the builders best friend when dealing with low value trash.