BiggerPockets

I drove passed a house that looks empty so trying to find more information on it i wrote down the address now what? i searched to see who the last owner was and cant find any number to call

i did find the owners name just didnt find there number listed or an address to write to

Originally posted by Adam Anderson

You can also get the name of the owner from that tax assessor.

Probably the easiest and most accurate way to find the "real" owner of the property. They probably won't have phone numbers, but thew will have a mailing address.

Tax assessors information is almost always the current owner AS OF Jan 1st. On that same property card you should find the parcel property code.

Take down that information and walk across the hallway to the county recorders office. You can do a search there by that property code and pull up (if on line) the actual records. These records even if on line (but usually in actul books) while you are at the courthouse have more information on them than what you will see online through the internet. Pay attention to the sales records and the area that the owner came from. This may not be listed exactly but an indication of where he came from is when he signed the sales papers they had to be notorized. If this notorization stamp is from a different area, such as FL when the house is in MI, since he "abandoned" his house that is now vacant, odds are that he has returned to an area that he knows (where he came from).

You can also search there for any property owned by that individual within that same county. If he simply upgraded his home you might find another address that way. Or searching by just the last name may give you some addresses to send a letter to where you may just find a relative that knows what happened to him and where he is.

Going to the courthouse and viewing the same records that you often can on line you will often find more information than is available on line (internet).

While there also go by the Clerk and Masters or County Trustees office. Before you go through all the trouble of trying to contact the homeowner and verify that the home is up to date on its taxes. They sometimes will have a different billing address. If you are nice you can often get a lot of information from them. If the taxes have not been paid chances the Clerk and Master has attempted to contact the homeowner and may be willing to give you what info they have.

I think a better question is is there not another home you can buy?

:)

Unless you have a personal reason of tracking down the owner I would suggest passing and moving on to the next deal.

Think of all the time you will save "playing real estate investor" when you can actually be "real estate investing".

I use www.peoplefinders.com. Low monthly fee and a lot of info.