Guides for finding motivated sellers, the free method first
17 of 17 written. Each one gives the free manual method in working steps, shows where it stops, then prices the paid shortcut from the vendors’ own pages.
Finding an owner’s phone number
Skip tracing5 steps
How to skip trace a property for free, and where the free method stops
Five steps from the county record to a number you are allowed to call.
Skip tracing5 steps
What skip tracing is in real estate, and what a trace can and cannot tell you
What a trace returns, where the data comes from, and the rules before you call.
Skip tracing5 steps
Skip tracing cost: what a trace costs per owner, and when a plan costs less
What a trace costs per owner on each service and tool, and the volume where a plan costs less.
Skip tracing5 steps
How to find a property owner’s phone number, from the address to a call you are allowed to make
From an address to a number you may call: free for one owner, cents for a list.
Owners behind on the mortgage
Pre-foreclosure5 steps
How to build a list of pre-foreclosures from county records, for free
Notices of default, lis pendens and sale dates, from the recorder, the court and the legal notices.
Pre-foreclosure5 steps
What pre-foreclosure means, how long it lasts, and what happens at each stage
What pre-foreclosure means, the notice that starts it, how long it lasts and how it ends.
Pre-foreclosure5 steps
How to find pre-foreclosure homes to buy, and how to approach the owner
Find homes in pre-foreclosure, confirm them at the county, check the numbers and approach the owner.
Pre-foreclosure5 steps
Pre-foreclosure leads with phone numbers: build the list, trace the owners, and call within the rules
Build the list and trace it for cents, or buy leads with the numbers attached from $39 a month.
Houses in an estate
Probate5 steps
Probate real estate leads: how to find them in court records and reach the executor
From the estate filing to the executor: the court file, then the county record.
Probate5 steps
How to pull probate leads from county records every week: the court, the appraiser and the recorder
A weekly pull from the court index, the appraiser roll and the recorder, kept in one sheet.
Distress and unpaid property tax
Distressed property6 steps
How to find distressed properties in public records, and which office keeps each sign
Code violations, unpaid tax, liens, evictions and vacancy, and which office holds each.
Tax delinquent5 steps
How to buy property with delinquent taxes: liens, deeds, and the owner before the sale
Liens, deeds and redemption, the county list, and reaching the owner before the sale.
Driving for dollars5 steps
Driving for dollars: find distressed houses from the street, then the owner, then make contact
Drive an area, tag the houses that show distress, find each owner and reach them.
Building and combining lists
List stacking5 steps
List stacking: how to combine lead lists in a spreadsheet, and when a tool is worth it
Combining distress lists by parcel number in a spreadsheet, then what the tools automate.
Absentee owners5 steps
How to find absentee owners: the county record, the homestead flag, and the lists that do it for you
Owners who do not live in the house: the tax bill address, the homestead flag and the lists.
Owner lookup5 steps
How to look up who owns a house for free: the assessor, the recorder and the business registry
The assessor, the recorder, the GIS map and the business registry: who owns a house, for free.
Who buys what you find
Cash buyers5 steps
How to build a cash buyers list: recorded sales, the buyers behind them, and what to ask each one
Recorded cash sales, the buyers behind them, and each buyer’s buy box in one list.
How these guides are made
- The free method in each guide uses public offices and sites anyone can reach: the county assessor, recorder, court and treasurer, and the state business registry.
- Where a rule differs from state to state, the guide says so and points to the office that decides it. Nothing here is legal advice.
- Tool prices come from the vendors’ own pages with the month they were read.