All Forum Posts by: Jordan H.

This is one of the most important things to note in the Northeast when looking for Tax Delinquent Lists since they are usually found at the county level.

Water Shutoffs are usually kept with the Water Department, and they are not provided nearly as much as other list types by the municipalities. They will simply state "We do not provide such records". 

You are going to want to make an open records request to the targeted municipality with your requests.

It's likely going to be more than the price of the data for you to get a market ready list unless you have a programming background.

Definitely ask for a sample of the data so you know what you are up against.

Good luck!

@Gavin D. ah yes, if you did not see the message from the county, does it apply to you, that is an excellent question, quite the plausible deniability.

If you need to go to the county for this data, which sometimes you do, you may be asked to sign an affidavit saying i would not use their data for commercial purposes in some areas. If they do not go that far, they will at least make you aware of their rules, in writing, and make you agree. 

You can procure the data from the county, you just must agree not to use it for commercial purposes. 

What kind of economic and real estate data data are you all looking for exactly?

You are in looking in VA. This is one of the many areas that you will not be able to get water shutoff records due to the legislation. If its vacants you must have then you must look elsewhere. As others have suggested - Check the code enforcement departments, get USPS vacants, drive around, or become innovative! Find new ways to locate vacant properties.

You must know exactly what you are looking for! That's a super important point. How can the people on the other end of the phone get you what you are looking for if you yourself do not know?

List source is good for basic lists (absentee, pre-f, ...) but they don't really have anything when it comes to niche records. 

You are right about the maze of niche records and the local government. Sometimes your desired data is easily accessible and in a proper format but more times than not you will get the run around in search for your data and then when you finally get it, you will need further assistance getting it market ready. 

Most code enforcement departments have a code violation category for vacant properties. If you ask them for distressed properties well.. they wont have a category for that, that's a subjectively defined REI category.

In my experience, this data is held at the code enforcement department at the municipality level (city, independent city, consolidated city-counties), and sometimes at the county level for unincorporated areas. Occasionally I've seen it released from the clerks office as well. As for it coming from the court house, I've only seen that coming into play if there are liens on the property coming from the city / code enforcement department.

Water shutoff list? Not something you will get from list source. You can submit an open records request to the cites water department for a list of properties that have had their water disconnected. If they reply back, it will likely only be a list of addresses, so be prepared with a way of getting an only address list market ready. 

Ask for proof of ownership to start with. Craigslist is full of scammers.