Real estate has long been an enticing asset class for investors because of its enduring ability to generate profit and cash flow. The ongoing challenge for investors lies in finding the right properties. Sometimes the process is as straightforward as seeing a “for sale” sign and making an offer, but experienced investors know that unlisted properties tend to be better investments. By targeting off-market properties, real estate investors can bypass competition and potential bidding wars.
When an investor spots a property with investment potential, in many cases the owner’s contact information is not readily available. Skip tracing real estate is the process of finding the property owners’ contact information so you can find out if they’re interested in selling.
How to Create an Off-Market Property List
Skip tracing real estate is a necessity when investors want to communicate with the owner of an off-market property. Investors who want to find the owner of a property can start the process by looking at property records that are publicly available via the local municipality. By using the address or lot information, the investor can discover what data is publicly available.
Property tax records and property assessments are usually a great place to start. These resources alone can often get you the owner’s contact information, even if it’s a property that’s not on the market. Doing this keeps your efforts organized and focused, so you put your energy into worthy prospects.
Going in person to the local city hall or county assessor’s office can be a way to access property records that include owner contact information, but that can be a time-consuming process. A reputable skip tracing provider can offer the same information far more quickly and easily.
Distress Factors
Investors can also reverse the process by looking for properties in distress, determining whether the property has investment potential, and then using real estate skip tracing to communicate with the owner. There are a variety of factors that can motivate property owners to sell, including numerous distress factors that can be uncovered online.
Pre-foreclosure
Pre-foreclosure is the most common type of financial distress factor for homeowners. When homeowners cannot maintain their mortgage, they are more likely to sell before the foreclosure process begins. This is especially true if the homeowner has equity in the property. A lender cannot foreclose on a property until the borrower has been delinquent for 120 days, at which point the bank will put the property up for auction. It’s important for investors to approach the homeowner while the property is still in pre-foreclosure so they can avoid competing with other buyers.
Tired landlords
Using property records it’s possible to discover how long a rental property has been held by the same owner. If it’s been held for many years, the owner could be interested in downsizing or retiring and selling to an investor.
Divorce
Divorce records are public, and in many cases divorcing couples can be motivated sellers. It’s common for divorcing couples to sell any shared assets and divide the proceeds, so they may wish to initiate that process without a conventional sale.
Tax Defaults
When a property is three or more years delinquent with their property taxes, that becomes a matter of public record. Properties with this type of distress factor could be great investment opportunities. If the homeowner is unable to get current on their taxes for a sustained period of time, they’re more likely to be receptive to an offer from a buyer.
Probate
When a homeowner dies without a will, the property then enters the probate process. Frequently, surviving family members will prefer to move quickly with a real estate investor rather than go through the process of putting it on the market. Probate sales can take longer due to court proceedings, so investors seeking properties in probate will need to exercise patience.
How to skip trace a property list
Once you’ve created a list of potential investment properties, it’s time to reach out to the homeowners. Skip tracing real estate will enable you to find the contact information for the owner/s of these properties.
Skip tracing uses the public records you have access to in order to find the information you don’t. For example, publicly available deeds or liens often have a name attached with a new address.
If the information isn’t publicly available or you don’t have time to review public records, a skip tracing tool is a quick and cost-effective way to get contact information for property owners. Once you have created a property list, you simply submit the list on the website and in many cases you’ll be able to access the property owner contact information in near real time.
For real estate investors, efficiency is key. A skip tracing provider is one of the most cost-effective ways an investor can free up more time to uncover and close deals. There are significant differences in the quality of skip tracing providers, so make sure you know what to look for when evaluating different providers.
Benefits of using skip tracing to enrich property lists
Doing the searches yourself can be time-consuming, and you may not find everything you need. That’s why using a platform for skip tracing real estate is more effective and will streamline the process for you. While managing other parts of your business, BatchLeads helps simplify the skip tracing process, allowing you to minimize time spent finding contact information and focus on finding your next deal. This information is carefully vetted to ensure accuracy, unlike the results you can get from a basic web search. In addition to providing contact information, the BatchLeads app allows you to call the homeowner or even send direct mail without ever having to seal an envelope.
Key Takeaways
As a real estate investor, you have a lot more negotiating power when you seek off-market properties. Investors can research property records to find them, then use a skip tracing service to obtain the owner’s contact information. This opens up a whole world of potential investments in which identifying property owners is a fast and easy process. Being able to negotiate with the owners of off-market properties before they’re on other investor’s radars is a tremendous competitive edge.
Test this method today with a 7-day free trial of BatchLeads. Expanding your methods of researching properties will help you uncover more profitable deals.
