How Do I Find Absentee Owners?

Comments(10)

• 
  molekunls4th February, 2004

  Quote:
  On 2004-02-04 09:22, sharpREI_PA wrote:
  I have been going through Scott Rister's Instant Cash Wholesaling Houses course, and he suggest finding Absentee Owners as a good source for motivated sellers. I was hoping someone could give me some quality places to search for Absentee Owners? He mentions using Metroscan and DataQuick, but I was hoping to find something a bit cheaper...like for FREE <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif"> !!
  Anyway, Any and all help will be greatly appreciated <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_smile.gif"> <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_smile.gif">
  
  Cheers!
  Chris
  I am having the same problem. Ican find some owners at the county fiscal office,but it does not give enough info. So,I am in need of help too.

• 
  scott_mn4th February, 2004

  Start a relationship with a title company, I get mine for free from a title company I work with. I also go through a company called RealQuest, for another county I work in, they cost at least for my county it is $75 per county.

• 
  molekunls4th February, 2004

  Quote:
  On 2004-02-04 09:49, scott_mn wrote:
  Start a relationship with a title company, I get mine for free from a title company I work with. I also go through a company called RealQuest, for another county I work in, they cost at least for my county it is $75 per county.
  I'm still trying to find a title company. I just wish there was an easier way! But nothing is that easy,right!?What is RealQuest?

• 
  sharpREI_PA4th February, 2004

  I tried RealQuest, but unfortunatley, my county must be behind in the times
  
  I will have to try another solution. Thanks for your advice
  
  Chris G

• 
  LarryTX4th February, 2004

  www.RealQuest.com
  
  Is a data service company that provides property detail information and allows you the investor to export data so that you may be able to send out mailings based on a certain criteria. For example if you wanted to send out a postcard to all absentee owners in a certain zip code with house values less than $150,000 you could do so.

• 
  molekunls25th July, 2004

  A good way to find absentee owners is to call and talk to some private investigators. Tell them you want to find the owners of some vacant houses and you want to give them to them in batches of 10-20 at a time. You should be able to get an affordable price buy doing it this way. Negotiate a deal where you only pay for the ones they find.
  
  HAPPY HUNTING!
  **Please See My Profile**

• 
  MarleneM25th July, 2004

  The title company route is the easiest, in my opinion. Just call the largest title company in your area, tell them you are an investor, and ask for your area rep. It's really very easy - they love investors.
  
  Once you make contact with a rep, tell him/her that you hope to get access to farm lists and property profiles. They will expect that if you close a deal, you will use them for title search, insurance and escrow. My title reps give me a $$ discount for using them, too (about 1/3 off regular title and escrow fees) - so I have no problem with using them.
  
  Farm lists can be obtained online or by calling and speaking to the rep's assistants. I prefer the online version, because I can set my own parameters - with absentee owners being one of them. I've sent many a letter out to absentee owners, and never gotten a response. Last week, I even sent out a purchase offer with the letter. No response yet. I consider this a lottery. Some day, my lucky number might just come up. 8-)
  
  Oh, property profiles are terrific, too. They are not the same as a title search, but they can tell you a whole lot about the property you are investigating. Lot size, building size, age, number of rooms, sometimes, loans taken against property, by whom and when, and sometimes, price paid by current owner. They also tell you if taxes are current. If not, that could be the sign of an even more distressed seller. So be sure to ask for property profiles, too.
  
  I get 15 free ones every month from Chicago Title, online. I print them up and bring them with me when I visit a property. I ask the realtor or owner a bunch of questions, and if they answer me in a way that differs from the property profile, I show them the profile and ask about the discrepancy. Then I watch them carefully, and see if they get squirmy. It helps me determine just how honest they are, and what to expect in my dealings with them.
  
  If I don't get enough with the 15 profiles, I just call the rep's assistant and ask for more, and get another 15. All for free, and all online!
  Hope this helps,
  MarleneM

• 
  raquel109427th July, 2004

  I simply got my absentee owner listings from the local appraisal office.... the guy responsible for the tax records just emailed them right over to me

• 
  JohnCl28th July, 2004

  raquel1094,
  
  Do you mean the tax assessor's office?
  
  JohnCl

• 
  jeff1200229th July, 2004

  If your willing to spend a little bit on educating yourself, go to google and enter "how to find anyone anywhere" in the search field. The top 4 responses come up with two books on the subject. One will cost about $15, and the other is about twice that much.
  Good luck,
  Jeff