Vacant Properties...what To Say?
I don't know where to post this question but my friend found this run down home that he's seen for the last 3 years and finally told me about it. When I went to look at it it sure didn't look like anyone was (or could) live in it. I went to the courthouse and looked up the address and got the owners names. Then went to the phone book and got their number but the address behind the number showed this address. Does this mean they still live there? And what do I say to these people? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Check with the county to determine how the taxes are paid (mortgage or private party) if private the mailing address of the tax bill may be your next point of contact. If you are interested in the property, just tell the seller. "The unit is vacant, would you consider selling it?" If they say no, "I also may provide lawn care would you be interested in receiving a quote? Do you have other vacant property which you would consider selling?" call on contact them every quarter asking the same question. Keep them on your radar.
Eric & Rosa
[addsig]
Hi qball31,
As Eric and Rose said, one good way to locate the owners of a vacant home is to go to the tax accessors office and find where the taxes are sent. If they are sent to the vacant home, it may be puzzling to you. However, everyone knows when taxes are due and they can simply walk into the tax accessors office and ask what they owe, pay it and walk out.
Several years ago, I tried to find the owners of a property that had been vacant for a number of years. The tax bill was still sent to the property , however the taxes were current. After asking a lot of questions, I discovered that my local accessors office made a copy of personal checks that people used to pay RE taxes. We looked the property up on micro-film, and I found the owners in a city an hour away.
However, one of the easiest options used today is to simply hire a private investigator to perform a skip-trace to locate the owners.
Best of Success
BAMZ
I've checked on some vacant properties but I never had much luck in buying them. I found that if the tax assesor's office did not have an address that was different from the vacant property, I could call my lawyer. I don't know if this works all the time but my lawyer didn't charge me anything to check who owned the property. The properties I checked on all had good reasons that they were vacant but not for sale. The reasons were many, but I finally decided that there were too many vacant houses in my area that were for sale that I didn't need to waste my time on those that weren't up for sale.
I just went through this exercise in an area near me. Found 14 houses that had no yard upkeep, no newspaper, no cars, etc. and assumed that they were vacant. Get friendly with a local title company (maybe the one you used for your last purchase) and ask them to do a Metro Scan (or equivalent service) that will give you a map, the current owners' name and address (sometimes phone number!), the amount of the current loan, when title was last transferred, etc. I dont even mess with the ones that have the same mailing address as the property (they may still live there...who knows). Find the ones that have different mailing address and send out your "sell me your vacant house" marketing letter. Happy hunting..
Molotov