When a real estate investor finds a property that meets all of the criteria in their buy box, such as price point, neighborhood, and type of property, there’s an urgency to move forward. But what happens if they only have an address for the property, but no contact information? And what if the owners don’t even live at the property?
Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to find the owner of a property. Some methods are free while others require a little bit of money. If you rarely need property owner information, the free methods might be sufficient for you. However, if you have a frequent need for homeowner contact information, there are some paid options that are more reliable and efficient. Regardless of the method you choose, once you know how to find out the owner of a property, you’ll be able to connect with more homeowners and close more deals.
Door knocking
We’ll start with the most low-tech (and likely least efficient) method: knock on the door. Yes, this is simple advice, but before you decide that a property has an absentee owner, there’s no harm in double checking yourself. After all, there’s a crucial difference between not having contact information for an owner and an absentee owner.
If no one answers the door at the property in question, you might try your luck by asking the neighbors if they have the owners’ contact information, or can pass along a message from you. If the owners are absent and the neighbors are unable to help, then it’s time to roll up your sleeves and do some more research, which we’ll explore below.
- Pros: This is a fast, free, and straightforward way to obtain the owner’s information.
- Cons: The homeowners could reside elsewhere, or they won’t answer the door to someone they haven’t met. Similarly, the homeowner’s neighbors could be unwilling to engage with someone they don’t know.
Assessor’s office
The role of the assessor is to estimate the value of taxable property in a given area. These appraisals are then used to determine the assessed value of residential property and calculate property taxes. The assessor for your city, county, or other municipality will often have the owner’s information for a property, including the property taxes they’re paying, which is useful information to share with prospective buyers.
In some counties, the assessor’s office provides documents online. The easiest way for you to find information about a given property, whether it’s an in-person or internet search, is to use the property’s identification number. This number is referred to in a variety of ways from county to county. It could be referred to as the Assessor’s Identification Number, Assessor’s Property Number, Section-Township-Range-Area-Block-Lot (STRABL), or Section, Township, Range, Area, and Parcel Number (STRAP).
While this information is free in some counties, there are some assessor’s offices that charge a nominal fee for this information.
- Pros: This information is available for free or at a minimal cost.
- Cons: If you’re searching in multiple counties, this can be a time-consuming process. In addition, most county property records will only have the owner’s name and the mailing address where the owner’s property tax invoice is sent. You will still need another source to obtain the owner’s phone number and/or email address.
County clerk’s office
The county clerk’s office, which is also referred to as the county recorder’s office, is another place that might have the information you’re looking for. The county clerk keeps records of births, deaths, marriage licenses, and other important records, including property deeds. If you’re able to obtain a property deed, that will include the homeowner’s information. Sometimes the county clerk will also have records about the history of the home and information about the previous owners. While this may not be necessary for finding the homeowner, information about recent add-ons, for example, could be useful during the purchase and eventual sale of the property.
- Pros: The property owner search is generally free, but there’s typically a fee for obtaining copies of documents.
- Cons: Similar to the assessor’s office, the available records will include the homeowner’s name but not their email address or phone number. Also, for investors who need owner information for a list of properties, this is an impractical and potentially expensive method.
Title search
Typically, title companies will only perform a title search as part of the closing process. This is generally done to verify that the property is clear of any liens and confirm the seller is the legal owner of the property and has the right to sell it. That said, title companies aren’t bound by any restriction to only conduct title searches during the closing process.
Title companies will charge for this service, and it can range from $75 to over $200, so it may not be the best tactic if you’re an investor who’s looking for owners of off-market properties. That said, if you have a relationship with a title company and you’re only interested in information about one property, they may possibly waive the fee.
- Pros: In some instances, this information can be obtained free of charge. Also, title agents will know how to easily and quickly obtain the information you’re looking for.
- Cons: Title reps can be extremely busy, and they may put your request on the back burner if they’re not charging you. If you’re requesting a list of owner information regarding multiple properties, you’ll receive a static list whose property data won’t update, so its reliability will decline with time.
Real estate agents
If you’re a real estate investor, partnering with a real estate agent can prove invaluable. Real estate agents have access to a lot of property information from the multiple listing service (MLS). While the MLS won’t necessarily have the current owner’s contact information, the real estate agent you’re working with could contact the agent that represented the buyers and obtain the owners’ contact information that way.
- Pros: Real estate agents have access to a lot of information that the general public doesn’t, including both property data and information from their professional network.
- Cons: The majority of real estate agents won’t volunteer this information or their time for free. Agents may be motivated to help if you already have a working relationship with them or if you plan on using them for the purchase or sale of the property.
Mailing list companies
Mailing list companies typically gear their product towards marketing campaigns, so if you’re just seeking property information for one home, you’ll probably wind up receiving (and paying for) far more information than you actually need. You could luck out and find a mailing list company that is able to specialize in helping you find distressed property information, but the quality of this information can vary in quality. You could be paying for outdated or inaccurate information.
- Pros: These companies will be able to obtain email addresses and phone numbers for the owner of a property.
- Cons: You could also wind up paying for an extensive list of numbers and data that you don’t want.
Skip tracing providers
Skip tracing is the process of finding someone’s contact information if they are absent or unresponsive. Two of the most common ways to track down a property owner are to attempt to do it yourself or use a skip tracing provider.
Searching social media accounts and reviewing public records are two DIY approaches investors use.. Publicly available deeds or liens, for example, often have a name attached with an address, however, public records generally don’t include phone numbers or email addresses.
If contact information isn’t publicly available or you don’t have time to review public records, an online 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 to the skip tracing provider’s platform and in many cases you’ll be able to access the property owner contact information in near real time.
Pros: Most skip tracing providers charge per skip trace, so there’s no subscription fee or minimum fee for fast and efficient real-time results.
Cons: There is generally a nominal fee for skip tracing.
Real Estate Investing Software
For real estate investors who consistently need to find motivated sellers and connect with homeowners, investing in real estate investing software that offers owner data might be your best option. The above strategies make sense if you only need to find an absentee owner once or in rare instances. Each of the above items require time or money, and the quality of the information may be questionable. There are some important criteria you can use for determining which real estate investment software is right for you.
At BatchLeads, we are driven to provide the most current and in-depth data possible to our clients by analyzing information from more than 7 billion records. Our rigorous focus on data quality and the customer experience empowers our customers to use our data and tools with confidence. You’ll be able to obtain owner information on millions of properties and create lead lists based on the criteria you choose, including distress factors such as pre-foreclosures or absentee owners.
Pros: Get access to unlimited property searches and have high-quality data at your fingertips.
Cons: Real estate investing software isn’t free, and prices vary depending on the company. Also, you need to be able to assess the quality of the data before deciding which software to use.
Conclusion
Determining the right method for how to find out the owner of a property depends upon how frequently you need to find this information. If this is an infrequent need, the most efficient method will be finding a reliable skip tracing provider that doesn’t have minimums or one of the free but more time-consuming methods, such as a public records search. If you need to find leads and property owners more frequently, then subscribing to real estate investment software will likely be the best bang for your buck.
