All Forum Posts by: Sharon Vornholt

I get my absentee owner list directly from our PVA. One of the main things I like about the idea of Sales Team Live is that they keep the lists updated.

I haven't had great luck with yellow letters in my area so I really don't want to use a company that only does yellow letters.

I know some folks have said they have good results with these letters, but I have never found that to be the case.

In Louisville where I live, all of that info is printed in the newspaper so I send the letters directly to the executor's address. The executor may or may not go to the decedents house more than once or twice so I wouldn't send the letter there.

There is also an online database here (free) that has all public records. You can go into the actual wills of the deceased and the executor info (address etc) can sometimes be found there.

If all of that fails, you might have to go down to probate records at the courthouse to get the info.

Do you remember what the price per letter was? Were they willing to waive any of the set up fee?

Thanks.

I would guess that differs depending on where you live. Look in the phone book under circuit courts and you will find a number for probate court. Give them a call and just ask them if the information is published in the newspaper. If not, ask them what their procedure is for getting the names.

Recently when I had a question, I did just that. I called them up. The lady that I spoke with said that they provide that information in printed form because of outstanding debts that the deceased might have. It gives all the creditors a chance to collect the debts owed. She told me that it costs them $20,000-$30,000 per month to print the info in the newspaper, but they are legally required to provide the information to the public. In small towns, you may still actually have to pick up a list at the courthouse.

In my city, the information always comes out on a Friday, on or before the 15th of the month. I can look at the calendar and see exactly what the date will be for each month. For instance, the 15th is actually on Friday this month. (These will be the names for the previous month). Last month the 15th was on a Wednesday so the names came out on Friday the 10th.

I hope this helps.

Chris - I LOVE probates!!! They are one of my best lead sources.

In my city, they are published in the local paper once a month, always at the same time.

All the info needed is listed in the paper. All we do is verify through the PVA that there is indeed property and put them into the database.

@ Jackie & @ Vickram -

I am a big fan of paperwork also. Everyone understands what is expected. I worked with one investor that wanted to even do contracts to purchase my house "verbally". I'm certainly not doing that.

On the other hand, I have been lucky to have been involved in some verbal agreements and they always worked out the way they were supposed to. I guess I was working with honest folks.

I will say that it makes me more than a little uneasy when people are against putting things in writing that we have verbally agreed on. That to me is a red flag.

Maryann -

I am a wholesaler so I hadn't even looked at it from a rehabbers perspective. That's very good info.

It seems like in my area, bird dogs are typically paid a per house fee. If I were going to do that, I would probably write it into contract #2 as the fee being $$ paid to the person as a referral fee or something like that. Their check would just come out at closing (the same as if there was a Realtor involved). That would protect the birddog.

I would be interested in learing about your experiences further. Maybe we do that at a later date.

Thanks for your help.

Jackie -

By "getting the paperwork from the owner" do you mean they put the house under contract for you?

Jackie-

That's very helpfu. Can you give me some guidelines re: the percentages?

Thanks.