Owner is incarcerated and we want to buy..

Rental Property Investor · Temple, TX · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 6 votes

Hi all, my wife and I have located a vacant property that would be a great fix and flip, however after a public records search it appears the owner is incarcerated and will be for 8 more years. Is this worth pursuing? Has anyone here ever had to deal with anything like this?

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Darwin Crawford

Rental Property Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2016 · 296 posts · 243 votes

I did this once. Wholesale deal, seller went dark on us. In a former life I did some skip tracing, was able to locate mugshot and arrest record. Little bit of "social reverse engineering" got me to her bail bondsman, who wanted to get paid, and we got it done. Takes some hustle, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call relatives, and float the money thing past them hard. People in jail need money too!

If the numbers work, the incarceration isn't a deal breaker. Paper and notaries go in and out of prisons on the daily.

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David Dachtera
Rental Property Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2014 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
@Noel Walton,
Are the payments and taxes current? Is there an impending foreclosure or tax sale sometime down the road?
Need more info ...
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Chris Purcell
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2010 · 739 posts · 372 votes
9y
@Noel Walton
Have you even had contact with this person? Why are you assuming they would be interested in selling
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Noel Walton
OP
Rental Property Investor · Temple, TX · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 6 votes
9y
@David Dachtera, I'm looking into if the payments/taxes are current, however it has been vacant for at least a year and it is not yet in foreclosure.
@Chris
@Chris Purcell, I haven't contacted them yet and I have no idea if they are interested. That is the reason I want to contact them is to find out.
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Ari Bachrach
Rental Property Investor · Silver Spring, MD · Member since 2017 · 85 posts · 59 votes
9y
This sounds like a great lead. If the house is empty, it's probably a financial drain on the owner. Unless they have all their personal property in the house, I can very easily see them wanting to sell. You may have to get creative tracking down the owner and getting an agreement though and communication may be more difficult. There are online directories where you can look up a prisoner's location (you'll have to know whether they're in federal or state prison) and then you can send them a letter. Also note that some prisoners do not have access to a non-pay phone. (a lot depends on the individual prison - some will have unfettered internet, some will have trouble using a phone). Provide your contact info and be willing to accept a collect call.
Good luck. Whatever happens it should make for a great story - I hope you post a followup to the forums.
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Noel Walton
OP
Rental Property Investor · Temple, TX · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 6 votes
9y
@Ari Bachrach, thanks for the input!! I can see this potentially being a great lead. I will definitely post updates.
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Darwin Crawford
Rental Property Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2016 · 296 posts · 243 votes
9y
I did this once. Wholesale deal, seller went dark on us. In a former life I did some skip tracing, was able to locate mugshot and arrest record. Little bit of "social reverse engineering" got me to her bail bondsman, who wanted to get paid, and we got it done. Takes some hustle, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call relatives, and float the money thing past them hard. People in jail need money too!
If the numbers work, the incarceration isn't a deal breaker. Paper and notaries go in and out of prisons on the daily.
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Darwin Crawford
Rental Property Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2016 · 296 posts · 243 votes
9y
@Noel Walton - I'll add, this was in the state of Alabama as well, so I know its possible.
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Account Closed
Tuscaloosa, AL · Member since 2017 · 27 posts · 17 votes
9y
I'm going to start going to county prison for leads😂 that's gold.
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Noel Walton
OP
Rental Property Investor · Temple, TX · Member since 2014 · 21 posts · 6 votes
9y
@Darwin Crawford, thanks for the tips. I totally agree with you that anyone is traceable. Just takes some work and talking to the right people.
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Chris MasonPro Member
Moderator
Lender · CA · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 10k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Darwin Crawford:

I did this once. Wholesale deal, seller went dark on us. In a former life I did some skip tracing, was able to locate mugshot and arrest record. Little bit of "social reverse engineering" got me to her bail bondsman, who wanted to get paid, and we got it done. Takes some hustle, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call relatives, and float the money thing past them hard. People in jail need money too!
If the numbers work, the incarceration isn't a deal breaker. Paper and notaries go in and out of prisons on the daily.
Clearly, there needs to be a BP podcast on bounty hunting for deal-finding!!! And/or maybe we've found the one type of investing that @Jay Hinrichs has not done.
I wish I knew what I now know about REI when I was volunteering in San Quentin state prison....
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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
9y
@Chris Mason I never targeted those incarcerated but like anyone who has been doing this long enough certainly have had clients go there.. and have had docs signed there. .buying and selling.. And lets not forget about the real estate crooks that ended up in San Quentin for securities fraud know a few of those.
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David Dachtera
Rental Property Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2014 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
@Noel Walton,
Was just curious how its going ...
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