Virtual Assistant · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2026 · 6 posts · 0 votes
Been working heavily on the data and list-stacking side for off-market acquisitions lately, and a few clear patterns stood out when comparing contact rates and seller motivation:
Single-filter lists are getting burned out fast: Pulling a basic "High-Equity" or "Absentee" list alone is giving way lower answer rates because everyone is hitting the exact same records.
2-to-3 layer stacking is winning: Records showing High-Equity + Vacant + Tax-Delinquent (or Code Violations) are converting at a noticeably higher rate because the seller actually has an urgent problem to solve.
Data hygiene matters more than list size: Cleaning out LLCs/trusts properly and verifying mobile numbers before dialing saves a massive amount of wasted cold-call and SMS spend.
For those actively pulling off-market lists right now—which distress stack has been giving you the best contact-to-contract rate in your market lately?
Cleaning out the LLCs and trusts before you dial is the step most people skip, and you're right that it shows in the spend. I'm on the financing side, not the list side, so I can't rank stacks by contract rate. What I see is how those deals fund. Vacant plus code violations usually means a house most DSCR lenders won't touch as is, since they want it rent ready when the appraiser walks it. Those buyers typically go hard money or bridge first and refinance once it's rented. Delinquent taxes usually get paid off at closing, so that comes out of the spread. A stack that converts well only matters if your buyer can fund what you found. Are you wholesaling these or holding some?
M Yaseen, this matches what I see on the agent side too — the stack that converts best is the one where the seller has an urgent problem to solve, not just a trait on a list. High equity alone doesn't make someone want to sell; high equity plus a vacant house plus delinquent taxes usually does, because the problem is costing them money every month. The other half of it is the one Noah named: the deal still has to be fundable. A vacant house with code violations is a great lead and a hard loan, so the buyer needs hard money or a bridge first and a plan to get it rent-ready. So I'd rank stacks by two things — how urgent the seller's problem is, and whether the property can actually close. How are you verifying that a record is still vacant before you dial?