can anyone let me know what resources to use to find homeowners of abandoned/empty houses. I have access to county websites where you either need a name or parcel #. What other means are there to locate property owners?
Howdy Cadbury:
Start knocking on doors next door and across the street. Someone will know where they are or a friend or relative of the owner.
A criss cross phone directory may help
If taxes are paid get address from tax office
Hire PI
If you have name look for relatives in phone book unless name is Smith or Jones etc
Use a skip tracer. You’ll find a lot in Google.
I don’t remember who but someone here suggested www.propertyshark.com, I’ve used it several times and seems to be very effective in the larger cities. And you can either look by owners name or property address.
Thanks for the advice. I was able to locate a name. I just have to track this person down.
You guys ROCK!!
Still unable to find homeowner. Anyone have suggestions to what to do next. I have a name from tax assessor, I even have a possible employer (an officer in the police dept), but dont know where to go from there.
What is the address?
I don’t pursue this much, but a friend of mine does this sort of thing a lot. She suggested trying the following link:
Also, someone emailed me this a short time ago. I assume it was posted on a real estate forum somewhere, but I don’t know who the author is to give them the proper credit due.
Whoever it is, thank you!
I've seen a number of posts here, where people are asking how to find people. Here are the sources, that I use:
- Sign up for a free 14-day trial at ancestry.com and see what they can find.
- Go to www.rootsweb.com and click on social security death index. It will show, if someone passed away.
- Get a death certificate from the vital statistics office in your state. You will need the info from the ss death index. The death certificate will give you an informant name, which is usually a relative. Go search for them and get a contract and start probate.
- Go to www.intelius.com and buy a single search for $ 7.95 , a 24-hour search for $ 19.95 or a 1000-name search for $ 200.
- Go to the courthouse and check the probate records for names.
- Check the marriage records and see, if that person remarried and changed their name. Or maybe they have a spouse with unusual name and you can search for them.
- Check divorce records and maybe find other names.
- Look for judgements.
- Check the real estate records for other properties in the name or maybe property transfers between them and other people with the same last name. Relatives, so look for them.
- Is it an ususual last name. Look for anybody with that last name in the area.
- Check in google for that name. They might have a website.
- Check with neighbors.
- If it's an older person in an older neighborhood, check with the closest church. They may still come to service and/or the pastor is in touch.
- If you have the death certificate and can't find the relative, contact the funeral home or cemetary, that's listed. They might be able to give you a different contact.
- Talk to the mailman/woman.