Have you cold-called/approached an owner of a house you wanted to rent without it being advertised?

A friend of mine is trying to find a house to rent. She’s come across some houses that “seem deserted” or have been on the market for quite a while. She went to the Registry of Deeds and looked up the owners of potential properties. As soon as her list was in hand, she got cold feet. I thought it was actually a pretty creative idea, since yearly rentals here can be tough to come by and encouraged her to follow through.

Have you ever known someone who took such an approach? Were they successful?