Investor · Paterson, NJ · Member since 2015 · 19 posts · 5 votes
Hey BP,
There's a boarded up house around the corner from my apartment, I went on the MLS and confirmed the city does not own it and obtained the owners name. I asked the neighbors if they know what happen to the owner but being that they just moved in a couple months back they don't know anything about the property. Is there any technique to finding the owners new address or phone number maybe? I see great potential for this property, any advice would be helpful!
Although I have never tried this myself, I know of some people who will place a sign on the property with the words..... House For Sale?.......and their phone number. Notice the question mark. The theory is if anyone knows where the current owner went, they may call them and let them know that you put a sign on the property. When they call asking why you are trying to sell their house, you can explain that the sign was a question, not a conventional For Sale Sign. Obviously, you will receive calls from interested buyers as well. take their info and add them to your buyers list.
Have you tried a property database like http://tax1.co.monmouth.nj.us/cgi-bin/prc6.cgi?menu=index&ms_user=monm&passwd=data&district=1301&mode=11 or http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/lpt/TaxLi...
Have you tried simply typing their name into a search engine? Chances are they'll have social media accounts or linked in accounts or something.
If that doesn't help, maybe they're older or are more savvy about protecting their online information, there are a variety of search engines that you have to sign up for (and may have to pay for) to do a search. I've used a service called Intelius before. I don't know if they're better or worse than other sites out there but I had success the one time I used their service. When I did a search, there were several addresses and telephone numbers and I just had to go through them, send letters and call until I found the right person at their current number.
If you still don't have any luck, you can hire a skip tracer. I've never used this before but I've seen people post about it so just do a search on BP.
Awesome! Glad it worked for you. I managed to sign up for my first month for a low initial amount but the regular price kicked in by month 2. I put a reminder on my calendar to cancel the service before the end of my first month.
Although I have never tried this myself, I know of some people who will place a sign on the property with the words..... House For Sale?.......and their phone number. Notice the question mark. The theory is if anyone knows where the current owner went, they may call them and let them know that you put a sign on the property. When they call asking why you are trying to sell their house, you can explain that the sign was a question, not a conventional For Sale Sign. Obviously, you will receive calls from interested buyers as well. take their info and add them to your buyers list.
or you could try just calling the county appraisers office that the property sits in and give them the address ONLY, and see if they give you back the same name you have come up with and then they of course also would/should have an address for the owners also since they still have to pay property taxes every year. And that is also free......
If the property is boarded up, there is a chance that the property is in foreclosure. The bank probably secured the proeprty and is in the process of taking the propety back.
There is a chance for shortsale. To check if in fact the property is in foreclosure, run the owners name in the county civil court case search.
I found a few boarded up homes in Hawaii and ran a check on their addresses on our Oahu county TMK site, software called Repropfinder, types names on Google and both owners have passed back in 2016. Their names are on the deed as Trust. Does anyone know how I can find the current owners or what I can do to get more information? Thank you in advance.
Hey Betty, did anything ever come from that seller we called together?
Try whitepages.com. You can search their name and it will give you their addresses phone numbers and relatives. Then you can call or write to their relatives.
Good to hear from you! No, you were right Lorne was another wholesaler.
Yes, I tried the white pages and found their obituaries. Their mailing address are the same as the boarded up homes. I was thinking of calling the board up companies, would they provide information? Maybe not? I found a lot of vacant properties. Is there another way to search for owners and or next of kin?
Hi @Betty Hahn - Look up where the tax bill is going and send a letter. Put a flyer on the door/mailbox to see if anyone is checking up on the property (heirs). Ask your title officer for a copy of the recorded deed and see if there's more info on how they took title. Skip trace the names and call up relatives. Lots you can do...
Drop me a line if you'd like to work on them together....