I found a Distressed property under a Trust

[Jack McWatters]

So Everyday before I head home from work or whatever I'm doing I drive through surrounding neighborhoods to look for distressed properties.

Recently I've been using the app DealFinder just because I feel like it is beneficial and can often tell me who the owner is and skip trace within seconds. The only thing I'm not too clear on and I have been researching this, If the property is Vacant but it lists the name + "Trust" What are the actions you would have to take to acquire that property and then assign the contract when the property is owned under a trust? I mean we are talking big beneficial deals, My market average is 500-900k in Southern California but Even just driving for 2-3 hours I found 10 houses and wrote them all down. A Majority of these properties are listed under a name, trust. 

Any information that would clear this up for me would be greatly appreciated.

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @Jack McWatters:

So Everyday before I head home from work or whatever I'm doing I drive through surrounding neighborhoods to look for distressed properties.

Recently I've been using the app DealFinder just because I feel like it is beneficial and can often tell me who the owner is and skip trace within seconds. The only thing I'm not too clear on and I have been researching this, If the property is Vacant but it lists the name + "Trust" What are the actions you would have to take to acquire that property and then assign the contract when the property is owned under a trust? I mean we are talking big beneficial deals, My market average is 500-900k in Southern California but Even just driving for 2-3 hours I found 10 houses and wrote them all down. A Majority of these properties are listed under a name, trust. 

Any information that would clear this up for me would be greatly appreciated.

It's an interesting question that I haven't really given much thought to, but here are some ideas.

When a trust is formed, the property is deeded to the trust. So, Sam has a property he wants to put into "Sam's Living Trust". Most trusts aren't recorded so you probably won't know who the trustee is. You look at the assessor's website if they allow access and look at who owned the property prior to the trust. In some counties they will indicate an "intra family transfer" if the previous owner and the trust are the same person. If it says "arm's length transaction" then someone actually bought the property with their trust rather than already owning the property and transferring it into the trust. Normally the Trustee is "Sam" until his passing or his incapacitation. There is an appointed Trustee stated by name inside the Trust that takes over after "Sam" dies. The new Trustee has the power to sell the property when "Sam" passes or is no longer able to care for himself. These are very broad statements and trusts can be quite different from one another with oddities specific to the wishes of the trustor.

If the property appears to be vacant

1. You can mail a letter to the Trust at the address and add "Mail Forwarding Requested" on the envelope, it should get to the personal responsible for the trust. It is then up to them to contact you.

2. You can leave a card on the door and ask neighbors what they know about the owner.

3. You can do a skip trace on the address and see if any phone numbers come up and then call those.

4. One of my favorites is to ask the mailman about the property (he knows what mail has been sent there.) If a lot of "Condolences" cards went there at one point, it is likely that the new Trustee is now in charge.

Houses can be vacant for a lot of reasons (elderly moved in with family or friends, hospitalization, death, moved back to where they grew up, bad memories regarding the property, can't afford the payment any more, deferred maintenance makes house a health hazard and on and on)