Skip Tracing Leads
Member since 2026 · 4 posts · 2 votes
Wanted to get some opinions when it come to skip tracing data. I would love to know where people are getting there most accurate and current data from. Also a majority of the phone numbers I see have "dnc" next to them. Are these number completely off limits or are we still calling these numbers in hopes of a quality conversation?
For skip tracing, I would focus less on who gives you the most numbers and more on who gives you the most accurate numbers. Bad data just means more wasted calls.
I have used DealMachine for years and have had good results with their data, but no skip tracing provider is going to be 100% accurate.
As far as DNC numbers, I would not just call them anyway. DNC is a compliance flag, not a bad data flag. Make sure you understand the federal and state rules before calling those numbers.
The bigger thing I would focus on is getting a good targeted list, having clean data, and being consistent with your outreach and follow up.
@Hunter Korn Two separate questions in there, so I'll take them one at a time.
On accuracy, no single source wins everywhere. Results change by market, by how old the owner data is, and by whether the owner is a person or an LLC. The most reliable way to choose is to test. Take a few hundred records from your actual target list, run the same sample through two providers, and compare. Numbers that show up in both tend to be your best bet. It also helps to check whether a number is mobile or landline, and whether it's tied to the owner's name and not a relative or an old tenant. I'd judge providers by connect rate and wrong number rate, not by how many numbers they hand back per record.
On the DNC flag: it usually means the number is on the National Do Not Call Registry, a state list, or a provider's own flag list. It doesn't mean the number is dead, and it doesn't automatically mean you can never reach that person. It does change the rules for unsolicited calls and texts, though. Whether an investor calling a homeowner counts as telemarketing is something attorneys genuinely disagree on, and penalties can be per call, so a lot of operators scrub and skip. Some states, Florida for example, add their own rules on top of the federal ones. I'm not an attorney, so please run this past a real estate attorney who handles TCPA in your state before building a plan around it.
A few habits cover most of the risk:
- Scrub every list against the federal registry and your state list before anyone dials, and re scrub about every 31 days, since numbers get added all the time.
- Run a litigator scrub too, because some people file complaints repeatedly.
- Stay inside the legal calling window (federal is 8am to 9pm in the owner's time zone, and some states are tighter).
- Keep an internal do not contact list and honor a stop request right away.
- Tag flagged records instead of deleting them. You can still reach those owners by direct mail or by knocking on the door, and clean tracking means you're not guessing later.
What market are you working, and are your leads mostly individuals or LLCs? That changes which data source tends to hold up best.
@Michael Clinton thank you for your thourough response. I'm currently working markets in Ohio, Columbus and Toledo specifically as of right now
DNC doesn't mean off limits for direct mail or non telemarketing calls (you're not cold calling as a business selling something check with a local attorney on TCPA specifics for your state). For accuracy, cross referencing skip trace data against absentee/mailing address mismatches has helped me filter out bad numbers before I even dial.