Vacant houses are undoubtedly the best deals because most other investors don’t bother with these. It’s great because you know you’ll be working with a motivated seller. No one is living there, and they might be wondering how to get rid of it, especially if they’re making payments on it.
To make the deal happen, you have to first find the owner. Here are my tips for finding the owner of a vacant house.
1. Tax Records
Check the tax records to see if the owner filed a new address. If so, send them a postcard or letter asking if they would like to sell their house.
An overgrown front yard is a big clue.
2. Post Card
If you can’t find a new address for the owner, send a postcard to the abandoned house address and write DO NOT FORWARD – ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED on the front of the postcard. This service is usually reserved for companies, so use your company name as sender.
The post office will send the postcard back to you with a sticker on the front with the owner’s new address.
You will want to do this because you’ll most likely get the owners new address, and when you do – save some time and just pay them a visit instead of mailing.
Please remember you are doing them a favor especially if the house is in foreclosure. Time is of the essence, you need to act quickly.
3. White Pages
Check www.anywho.com the white pages and search under the owners’ names, what you’re looking for are a) the owner or b) people with the same last name. Check also www.zabasearch.com Call everyone asking if they know how to reach the owner . Make sure you don’t sound like a debt collector but more like a long time family friend or a lost relative.
4. Skip Tracer
Hire a skip tracer, AVREIA has a discount on skip tracing, you can do a trace for $25.00. Go to www.findtheowner.com and open an account, takes you two seconds and it’s free. They will usually find them in 24-48 hours and it will cost you only $10 – $20 bucks per search.
5. A Note
| $500 REWARD We’ll pay you $500 for information leading to the purchase of this house! (###) ###-#### We buy houses CASH, Any Condition, Short Sale, Upside Down, Vacant, Abandoned, Vandalized |
Leave your note taped to the front door. If the owner is local or if they have someone collecting their mail and checking on things, they’ll find your note. Use a bright yellow note, (like a sticky note) and tape it to the front door. It could say something like, “I’m interested in buying your house. Please call me at ###-####.” If you feel bold, use my yellow sign below. Print yellow labels and put it to the garage door. It should say:
6. The Neighbors
Find the owner thru their nosey neighbors. This can be a very effective method for finding owners of vacant, abandoned houses. Talk to the neighbors on either side of the house and also the ones across the street. Explain that you are interested in buying the house. The neighbors almost always know how to get in touch with the owner.
It could be that the owner is older and in a nursing home.
To Your Success…..
Alicia