I think one of the things you're completely missing here David, is that large ghost towns exist in worlds that have been going on for quite some time, and thus lots of people are already running around at level 40+, and plenty of towns already exist where people can join if they want to be associated with an active group.
Ghost towns, for the most part, are a bad thing to buy, even if they look tempting. There's a reason they became ghost towns, and it usually has to do with the neighbors and their trigger-happy residents. So, really, let the noob buy the ghost town. He'll learn, just as the previous residents learned, why "location, location, location" is far more important than the seeming deal.
And also, people who really get to enjoy the game are the ones who participate in fun and active towns. A low level player who purchases a ghost town is going to be very lonely. He is not likely to find a lot of people to join him in that town, especially not with so few new low levelers joining a well-established world.
And what's with this "right hands" crap? Is a high level person more entitled to purchase a town than a low level person? Do they have to be of a certain temperament? Must they be genetically superior in some way? Seriously, if you want a particular town, and there's a low level person who presently owns it, tell him you'll join his town if he makes you a founder. Maybe he'll be dumb, maybe not.