ok guys.
here’s a no brainer for you professional investors out there.
when searching for run down properties or handyman specials, who do i contact or where do i look first? courthouse, real estate broker or financial institution? thanks a bunch.
newbie
Hi Newbie,
I don’t consider myself a “professional”, but I can tell you how I find vacant properties. It’s known in the biz as “driving for dollars”. Pick a neighborhood that you want to concentrate on, and just drive through the neighborhood slowly looking for vacant and run down properties. Once you have found a property(ies), you can talk to the neighbors to get information about the owners, or look the address up in the county tax rolls to find the owners name and address. Here are the links for the Travis, Williamson, and Bexar county tax rolls:
http://www.traviscad.org/
http://www.wcad.org
http://www.bcad.org
I don’t know if you live in either of those counties, but as you can see, there’s a familiar theme.
Once you get the owner’s name and address, try to get their phone number somehow. Whether it be through information, the phone book, or the internet. Then call them and start the negotiating process. :deal Unfortunately, not all owners information in the tax rolls is correct, so that’s where the work really begins trying to locate the owner. :banghead
I hope this information has helped you.
Chris
become a property locator or bird dog for one of the established wholesalers in your area. They’ll steer you in the right direction and will teach you everything you need to know to get started in this business
I have run into dead ends on several properties in my area looking for the owners and listened in on a teleseminar from here that suggested using a skip trace to find the owner. I am looking into this now and have a friend that is a Private Investigator, the only question that remains for me is cost. I am wholesaling because it is an inexpensive way to get involved, but may figure out a way to pay for these services in an effort to really find a good deal.