Shifted my focus to commercial, so I'm not competing with you on SFH

[JS Burnett]

Here's where I'd actually be looking if I were still in it, beyond the usual wholesale lists and MLS pulls everyone else is already

working.

Four underused sources worth your time:

1. Probate filings- Pull them at your county courthouse. Heirs who

inherited a property they don't want are often completely unaware that

investors are a viable option. Be the first call.

2. Code violation lists- Public record, most cities publish them online

or will email you a list on request. These are owners who either lack

the capital to fix the issue or have mentally checked out. Screen for

motivated.

3. Eviction court dockets- A landlord actively evicting a tenant is

often signaling they're done. They're not listing it yet because they

don't know their options. Show up before a wholesaler does.

4. Out-of-state owners on non-homestead properties- Filter your county

appraisal district data by mailing address. Anyone managing a property

from another state is carrying friction every single month. Some have

been sitting on the idea of selling for years.

One thing I'd push back on that I hear a lot in these forums: finding

the motivated seller is not actually your competitive advantage.

Everyone's doing it now. Your only real edge is if you can look at a

deal and see value-add potential the next investor doesn't, ADU

feasibility, mis-priced deferred maintenance, a subdivision play, a path

to rezoning. Something that lets you justify paying more because you're

making more.

If you're writing offers purely on purchase price hoping to out-lowball

the competition, that's a grind with diminishing returns. Force

appreciation or move on.

Happy to talk through specific deal structures or underwriting if

anyone's working something in the Houston market. I do commercial full-time now but I'm still happy to give a straight answer

to a straight question.