How to Find Owners of Vacant Properties
Your Secret Weapon For Finding Owners Of Vacant Property
Vacant properties can result in some of the easiest profit for investors. These types of properties can be bought low and sold low, which means a quick profit and a quick sale for you.
One of the biggest challenges when investing in vacant properties is finding the owner of that property. They obviously don't live there, they don't announce that they are the property owner, it's not public record who owns the house, etc. So how do you find out who owns the property?
It would be nice if finding owner information and mortgage details was fairly simple, but it's not and never will be. If it was easy, there would be so much competition and next to no vacant homes on the market.
Below I've listed a few different ways you could go about finding the owner of a vacant property. Don't get too excited about these, though. I have a much easier way for you to find the owner without driving around, talking to different people, mailing letters, etc.
If there are neighbors close by, feel free to ask them about the property. Because the property is vacant and most likely an eyesore, the neighbors are more likely to tell you what they know. They may know details about the owners or their whereabouts or what happened with the property, but that's not always the case.
The Assessor's Office might be able to tell you where they have been sending tax statements and if the owners have any other properties. There is a chance they will be able to give you the property owner's name, too.
If you know the owners name, you can search through all of the documents they have signed in the last few years to see if any of them list a different property. There is a chance that will spend a lot of time search and still find nothing useful.
Keep an eye out for Marriage License Applications. You might be able to find birth dates, SSN info, employment info, or addresses.
You can also take a look at their voter records. Again, you do have to have a name, but voter records are public record. You'll have to look through every record returned with that name though, which can be very time consuming.
If you've got a lot of time to spare, you can look through the White Pages for everyone with the same last name and call them up. You want to make sure to tell these people that you're looking to buy “so and so's” house and hope they are of some relation.
You might be able to get the owners new address by sending a post card to the vacant property. Make sure to put “Do not forward – Address Correction Requested” on the post card so that the post office doesn't forward the card. You will get the post back to your mail box with a sticker that has the owner's new address if the post office even knows it. In some cases, the home owners don't forward their mail to their new address.
In some cases, the owner will come back to the property for one reason or another. Leave a big bold yellow note on the door that says you want to buy their house.
If you leave a note like that on the door, it could catch someone's eye from the road that knows the property owner, too.
That's seems like quite a lot of hassle, huh? No wonder only a few investors are willing to take the time. Well, like I said before, there's a much easier way to find the home owner and not many investors know about it yet. You can literally find all the information you need without leaving your house.
The easiest and best way to find a vacant home owner is by using FindTheSeller to run a skip trace. If you know the address, we can run a comprehensive search that provides you with enough information on the property and the home owner to contact them and make an offer. Yes, it's that easy.
Saving time finding home owner information will give you more time to find vacant properties and do more deals. No brainer, right? Click here to check out our search options or run a skip trace today.