Interesting read:
http://www.homestead.org/NeilShelton/HowtoBuyLand/VeryCheaply.htm
Good read indeed. I wonder though, if there is no real estate on a piece of property, can you just seek out the Land Patent Holder and make the offer to them? This is, of course, assuming that the person who owns the deed/title to the land is not, also, the Land Patent holder as well. Thougts?