Tracking Down Next of Kin of Deceased Owner
Investor · Buffalo · Member since 2025 · 45 posts · 27 votes
Tracking Down Next of Kin of Deceased Owner
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Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
1yQuote from @Michael Murphy:
Does anyone have tips on how to track down next of kin if the owner of a property dies? I have a lead for a vacant property and the neighbor has told me that the owner died and her son also died in the house.
I tried pulling the obituaries and the neighbor's story checks out. The property is currently racking up back taxes and is in disrepair. The deed is still held in the deceased mother's name. Neither the mother nor son were active on Facebook. The son's last given address was literally a liquor store. I was going to go to swing by to see if anyone knew him.
I'm thinking there must be a formal process for identifying next of kin. If the city auctions the house would the funds just be unclaimed or would they have a way of finding the next of kin? Even if I am able to track down the next of kin how would I know if they are authorized to sell the property?
If anyone has dealt with this previously I would appreciate any insights.
the property would need to go through probate - so that would take time to get it through - your best bet may be to wait for it to go to tax sale and buy it then.
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- Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes1y
Quote from @Michael Murphy:
Does anyone have tips on how to track down next of kin if the owner of a property dies? I have a lead for a vacant property and the neighbor has told me that the owner died and her son also died in the house.
I tried pulling the obituaries and the neighbor's story checks out. The property is currently racking up back taxes and is in disrepair. The deed is still held in the deceased mother's name. Neither the mother nor son were active on Facebook. The son's last given address was literally a liquor store. I was going to go to swing by to see if anyone knew him.
I'm thinking there must be a formal process for identifying next of kin. If the city auctions the house would the funds just be unclaimed or would they have a way of finding the next of kin? Even if I am able to track down the next of kin how would I know if they are authorized to sell the property?
If anyone has dealt with this previously I would appreciate any insights.
the property would need to go through probate - so that would take time to get it through - your best bet may be to wait for it to go to tax sale and buy it then.
7e investments53 Reviews- Investor · Buffalo · Member since 2025 · 45 posts · 27 votes1y
Quote from @Chris Seveney:
Quote from @Michael Murphy:
Does anyone have tips on how to track down next of kin if the owner of a property dies? I have a lead for a vacant property and the neighbor has told me that the owner died and her son also died in the house.
I tried pulling the obituaries and the neighbor's story checks out. The property is currently racking up back taxes and is in disrepair. The deed is still held in the deceased mother's name. Neither the mother nor son were active on Facebook. The son's last given address was literally a liquor store. I was going to go to swing by to see if anyone knew him.
I'm thinking there must be a formal process for identifying next of kin. If the city auctions the house would the funds just be unclaimed or would they have a way of finding the next of kin? Even if I am able to track down the next of kin how would I know if they are authorized to sell the property?
If anyone has dealt with this previously I would appreciate any insights.
the property would need to go through probate - so that would take time to get it through - your best bet may be to wait for it to go to tax sale and buy it then.
Thanks for the response. I was hoping to get it at a better price than the auction. Granted I haven't ever been to a tax auction, but I'm envisioning it getting bid up to some absurd price.
- Member since 2024 · 153 posts · 67 votes1y
Quote from @Michael Murphy:
Quote from @Chris Seveney:
Quote from @Michael Murphy:
Does anyone have tips on how to track down next of kin if the owner of a property dies? I have a lead for a vacant property and the neighbor has told me that the owner died and her son also died in the house.
I tried pulling the obituaries and the neighbor's story checks out. The property is currently racking up back taxes and is in disrepair. The deed is still held in the deceased mother's name. Neither the mother nor son were active on Facebook. The son's last given address was literally a liquor store. I was going to go to swing by to see if anyone knew him.
I'm thinking there must be a formal process for identifying next of kin. If the city auctions the house would the funds just be unclaimed or would they have a way of finding the next of kin? Even if I am able to track down the next of kin how would I know if they are authorized to sell the property?
If anyone has dealt with this previously I would appreciate any insights.
the property would need to go through probate - so that would take time to get it through - your best bet may be to wait for it to go to tax sale and buy it then.
Thanks for the response. I was hoping to get it at a better price than the auction. Granted I haven't ever been to a tax auction, but I'm envisioning it getting bid up to some absurd price.
You're absolutely right — once a property hits auction, it often gets bid up beyond reason, and it’s easy for it to end up out of reach. The key is to try and connect with the heirs before it ever gets to that stage.
In many cases, finding relatives isn’t too difficult. Basic skip tracing can go a long way, even free services like Cyber Background Search can help. A single search might pull up dozens of names and phone numbers of associates and potential relatives. That said, it’s not always straightforward. Sometimes the owner was a transplant from out of state, with no local ties left behind. Those can be tougher.
When that happens, I usually start digging into obituaries, cemetery records (especially for military personnel), and try to figure the family's original home state where I can start the search anew. It can definitely be a time-consuming process, and not always successful, but when there’s good potential in the deal, it’s often worth the effort.
And if you're not tight on budget hiring a private investigator can be an option.
Good luck — hope it works out in your favor before state takes it to tax auction!
- Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes1y
@Michael Murphy To find people the term to use is "Skip Trace" Goggle that term or just google people search and a ton of sites will come up. Finding people can be tough.
Expect to pay for a true worthwhile search that included potential relatives. This often means doing a lot of work to run down leads. Many people may not even be related. Sometimes paying a private investigator is worthwhile.
Waiting for a property to come up to a tax auction is not a very effective strategy in most cases.
- Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes1y
The probate process could easily take 6-12 months. Is there a way he could search for active probate cases and then be notified if one starts? I assume that would provide the contact info. Though I suppose that puts you in competition with people that do a lot of probate buys. And they’d probably be better at judging values and getting through the system. So maybe it’s too late by then?
- Investor · Austin TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes1y
@Michael Murphy If you've already checked the obituary, you should have seen next of kin mentioned in the obituary. If someone put the obit together then there is a next of kin. Did you check the probate filings to see if anyone started the probate process? If not, and you cant skiptrace and find the relatives mentioned in the obit, try calling the funeral home and asking for the contact info of the family for the deceased person. If they wont give it to you then tell them you have an important message for the family and have them contact you as soon as possible. I hired a private investigators once to help me track down a next of kin because 3 generations of direct descendants were dead. The harder someone is to find, the less competition you're going to have.
- Member since 2024 · 153 posts · 67 votes1y
Quote from @Lydia R.:
@Michael Murphy If you've already checked the obituary, you should have seen next of kin mentioned in the obituary. If someone put the obit together then there is a next of kin. Did you check the probate filings to see if anyone started the probate process? If not, and you cant skiptrace and find the relatives mentioned in the obit, try calling the funeral home and asking for the contact info of the family for the deceased person. If they wont give it to you then tell them you have an important message for the family and have them contact you as soon as possible. I hired a private investigators once to help me track down a next of kin because 3 generations of direct descendants were dead. The harder someone is to find, the less competition you're going to have.
Lydia, how much did you pay to private detective to locate the person?
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