I know when hubby and I were looking for a place we would literally drive around, find abandoned houses, find out who owned the deed and ask them if they wanted to sell... sometimes the houses were listed for sale, other times they weren't...
It took us two years, and 34 houses... but we finally found one we could buy. We were really limited by the fact we can't qualify for a mortgage so the owners had to be willing to sell, and willing to rent-to-own...
We got a 3 bed, 2 bath house on an acre of land for $25,000.
When we moved in there was no running water and no electricity... but it only took a few weeks of 'roughing it' to get the house livable and now we're slowly fixing it up to be beautiful. We assume when we're done we'll sell the house for around $100K (our next door neighbour is selling a similar house now for $169K) and buy our dream farm with that... without ever having to get a mortgage.
It can be done.. It can be really discouraging, and I know I had a few teary nights... but in the end it's worth it when you find the perfect place to make into your home!
Good luck with your house search
