I have seen several empty houses lately I may be interested in flipping. Trouble is that the county auditor page gives me very little information. I'm sure one of them is not going to be a tax sale, since they are up to date. So, how do I find out the house's status? I'd like to find the mortgage holder, but don't know how.

I've flipped 3 houses, but bought them all from wholesalers. Would rather go straight to the owner/lender if possible

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jim

Hi Jim,

You can find Mortgage information from the county recorder, but the bank probably won't talk to you about the property without the owner's authorization.  Your best bet is to find the owner.  Here are some thoughts about finding the owner:

• Leave a note on the door with your info on it
• Send a letter to the address and send it to the tax mailing address if different
• Google the name of the owner; are they on facebook, linkedin, is there an obituary, etc....
• Look up their name on the county clerk of courts
• Do a whitepages search for address, phone #, etc.
• Also a Realtor has access to information that pulls data from multiple sources which can be helpful too.

I do searches like this often.  If you would like me to help, direct message me an address.  

Hey Jim,

I am not a wholesaler myself, but the difficulties that you cite are the very reasons that I do not mind paying one of them a reasonable fee for finding houses for me.  My experience is that nine times out of ten even if you can find these people they will not talk to you or there will be some other issue that prevents you from actually acquiring the property.  There certainly is no harm in trying though.  Good luck!

Thank you Adam and Jeff. I'll see what happens.

@Jim Wiley it is difficult to find houses that are empty in Indianapolis.  I had to call a lot and talk to a bunch of people to finally get someone who is willing to get rid of their vacant house. 

@Jim Wiley I know this discussion is a little old but I may be able to help. I do wholesale, as well as rehabs, buy and holds (AirBnb). When I come across properties like this I am often able to track down and acquire the property. If you would like to work together on a couple of those properties you mentioned, we can create a situation that is beneficial for me and you. Let me know if you are interested.