There are all kinds of free or nearly free houses in my city. Trouble is, you can get them for $1,000 but you've got to renovate them to the tune of at least $100,000 and then they are only worth $45,000 because they are in a crappy part of the city.
There is no free lunch.
Some houses on my block went for $5,000 each some years ago, back when we were semi-ghetto. Now we are upscale and they are building $500,000 houses across the street from me. So posh. Me, so happy. :)