If so could you shed a little light on the process and your experiences? 

I am in the process of getting my real estate license as well.

Neighbors said (may no be true) that the owner just took the insurance money and has no plans to fix the house.I inquired at city hall about the process of potentially buying the property before they demolish it. 

Hello everyone, I am currently in the process of becoming an agent, and then continue my education to become a broker. 

I will update as the process moves forward.

And this is a subjective process, so not easy to put guidelines.

It takes 4 weeks to get through permit process, and all fees etc. are very reasonable.

What if I bought a property in in 2016 and and improved it over the last 3 years - and mid process it was designated an opportunity zone? 

hi there @Colin Dunne, welcome to the world of bpthere are many ways to go about investing in real estate and the truth is that there is no wrong way of going about it.as long as you #getstarted is the main thing, oh yes and don't lose money, there is some great information out there is on this website as well as youtube etc. the podcasts on here are amazing and they allow you to hear others successful stories as well as what was their motivation to get them going and continue pushing on.i'm soon starting my own meet up here in the area and bring in people that can help along the ways through this process,i'll keep you posted on the dates.

Looks like this went through the probate process but no one claimed the property.