@Eduardo Slesaransky @Skylar Moyer
I guess I'll add my 2 cents as being someone that has been doing tax delinquent properties as one of my main filters, and have made a truckload of money off of these.
Before I give you some hints on your methods, remember these leads are just a means to an end. Our business model isn't probate, code enforcement, abandoned properties, or tax delinquent properties. Our biz model is professional problem solving.
All of those situations, being tax delinquent, having code enforcement issues, etc, are all leads to people with problems that you can solve in exchange for equity.
Ex: sure a number of properties are getting delinquent because the owner past, but if you track down the heir and assist them in doing the probate, isn't that going to be a great point of negotiation? "I will pay for your probate and take care of the liens and pay you (blank) for your equity," wouldn't that be a strong negotiating position?
(For more of an understanding of what I mean, here is a link to a post I did that explains in more detail. https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/62/topics/243... )
Ok, enough of the soapbox speech, though if you understand that truth, you will get more deals which will make you more money, let's get to those leads.
You can get tax delinquent leads from many good lead sources, however if I were you, I would add another filter. I would ask for vacant house leads with tax delinquent as the additional filter. That will give you a lot more bang for your buck.
As @rick h said, you can get your list for free from the tax collector. The catch is, there is no such thing as a free list. You have to pay either with cash to the list provider or pay with sweat equity through the collector by having to weed through their list for what you are specifically looking for. You can usually get the list of delinquent liens by asking your collector for the current or most recent list of tax certificates for sale. There will usually be an additional identifier for multi year delinquent. (Like an asterix or something) Most of the certificates are first year certificates, I prefer at least 2 years or more.
@Skylar, when you find a home where the person has past, simply google that person's name along with the city where the home was and the word obituary and more often then not you will pull up an obit along with his/her next of kin along with the city/state they live.
I do not send letters because I do exactly what Rick said and do my title due diligence before reaching out and look for the best deals and the low hanging fruit, then I skip those people using my own techniques which I posted in another post.
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/290841-ugly-abandoned-house---where-can-i-find-the-owner
I call these people personally as these deals are golden and get probably a 50-70% closing rate by solving problems.
I hope this helps.