Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2020 · 32 posts · 7 votes
There’s a vacant home near me who’s owner passed away in Nov 2019. Doesn’t seem like any relatives live nearby. I looked on the county records and the home is still in the deceased gentleman’s name.
Seems to me like it could be a distressed property and the family may be open to someone taking it off their hands... but how do I get in contact with the right person??
Real Estate Investor · Milford, PA · Member since 2014 · 395 posts · 299 votes
6y
I always start with where the tax bill is being mailed to. Sounds like here the bill is being mailed to the vacant address. So I then hit google to see if I can match the name with the vacant address and see where that leads me. sometimes it will populate with other names and locations. I then track down each name and start to build a file. Keep at it long enough and something should pop. Although the older the individual the less digital footprint they will have. Death records, obituaries, and even gravestones will leave clues.
When all else fails keep it on your radar and wait for the tax sales.
One last thought. I've seen banks pay taxes just to protect their investment but do nothing with the property so researching if it has a mortgage may be another way of going about it.
Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes
6y
@Grace Navera If you know the owner is deceased the first step is to see is an estate has been opened. If so then you can buy it from the estate. Contact the executor (may go by different names in some states) of the estate.
If an estate has not been opened you need to do a skip trace to find the heirs. You negotiate a deal with the heirs and then open an estate and buy it fro the estate.
A skip trace is the name for a people search. There are plenty of sites online to help you do this or you can hire a private detective.