{"id":5482,"date":"2017-03-17T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/camerondirect.com\/?p=5482"},"modified":"2021-05-12T16:36:24","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T16:36:24","slug":"motivated-sellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realestatewealthnetwork.com\/blog\/motivated-sellers\/","title":{"rendered":"Vacant House Gold: How To Find Motivated Sellers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s post is about the second step in my 5-step process for quickly turning an abandoned property into BIG paychecks--Finding motivated sellers<\/strong>. I like to think of these types of deals as gold mines that are simply disguised as vacant homes or abandoned property.<\/p>\n

This is mainly because there\u2019s not a lot of competition for them. Not only is it challenging to find vacant properties, but it can be even more challenging to find the owners or motivated sellers of these vacant houses. Oftentimes, because it is indeed more challenging, fewer investors will actually spend the time and effort searching for them (which is why this is a GREAT opportunity for you).<\/p>\n

In my last post, we covered several ways that you can spot those gold mines disguised as vacant houses FAST<\/a>. Before that, I hit on the basic fundamentals of vacant houses or abandoned property<\/a>,<\/a> which (I hope) allowed you to open your eyes to the beauty (and profits) that vacant houses ultimately have to offer.<\/p>\n

So, now that we know how to spot vacant properties FAST, the next logical step is to learn how to quickly find the owners or motivated sellers of these vacant houses.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s get to it\u2026<\/p>\n

The Hunt For Motivated Sellers Is On <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Instantly, your initial reaction to trying to find these motivated sellers might be to talk to the neighbors in that specific area, by the good old-fashioned way of knocking on their door. But... then you quickly learn that maybe this isn\u2019t the best idea...<\/p>\n

...And you\u2019re right. Actually, it\u2019s a\u00a0<\/strong>HUGE <\/em><\/strong>waste of your time<\/strong> (your bird dog will agree). And you know that your time is much more valuable (and much better spent) negotiating with motivated sellers and finalizing deals.<\/p>\n

So think about it this way... if you were to get sucked into a long and drawn-out conversation with \u2018Mr. Neighbor\u2019, who is lonely and doesn\u2019t have people to talk to on a regular basis (until\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0show up). Well\u2026. let\u2019s just say that you\u2019re about to become \u2018Mr. Neighbor\u2019s\u2019 best friend and learn every little detail about him over the next 2-3 hours (sad but true). Believe it or not, I\u2019ve tried this tactic. And yes, although it\u00a0might<\/em>\u00a0help you get the information that you\u2019re looking for on the motivated seller, there\u2019s a great chance that you just simply end up wasting your time.<\/p>\n

And more often than not, this is how you fall into the typical \u2018not worth your time\u2019 category of neighborhood watch groups<\/em>. (Yes, they do exist).<\/p>\n

Furthermore, if you do talk with people in a neighborhood watch group, you\u2019ll most likely find out that (a)<\/strong> they don\u2019t know that a house in their neighborhood is even vacant, or (b)<\/strong> they don\u2019t seem to care too much. Either way, you end up getting no useful information out of them.<\/p>\n

So let me further explain some valuable options for locating these motivated sellers\u2026<\/p>\n

Give These a Chance<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Today, I have several tactics to share with you (and I will admit that some are better than others). But... I\u2019m sharing all of them with you so that you\u2019re fully armed with the information, and can then decide what strategy works best for you.<\/p>\n

Tax Rolls<\/strong><\/h4>\n

To start your search off right, you can begin with the Tax Rolls<\/em>--which\u00a0is a list of taxable property either by township, city or county. Tax Rolls contain the name and address of the person (or entity) that is paying the taxes on the property. In other words, you\u2019ll learn where the tax bill is mailed.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll also be able to see the square footage of the house, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the assessed value, the most recent purchase price (in most states), etc. This is all of the data that the tax assessor maintains in order to assess and collect property taxes.<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of ways to access them\u2026<\/p>\n

..First, you could march over to the Tax Assessor\u2019s office and look up the details using the property\u2019s address (which you probably got from your bird dog) or you\u2019ll likely be able to find it easily on the Tax Assessor\u2019s website for your area.<\/p>\n

But\u2026 here\u2019s where it may become a little challenging. If the owner or motivated seller's address is listed as that of the vacant house--this could be a dead end, simply because we know that no one lives there. \u00a0I refer to this \u201cdead end\u201d situation as \u201cmatching address\u201d.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the end of the world, so\u00a0don\u2019t let it get you discouraged. In fact, you should actually get excited! I know what you\u2019re probably thinking, \u201cWhy should I get excited Cam?\u201d Well\u2026because, once again, this reduces your competition!<\/p>\n

Remember \u2013 the harder it is to find the seller, the better the deal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So now we\u2019re going to dig a little deeper, and if that means putting on your Sherlock Holmes\u2019 hat or any other clich\u00e9s that you can think of, then let\u2019s get to it :)<\/p>\n

You may be thinking\u2026 \u201cBut Cam, this means more work and time on our part.\u201d Yes, it does mean a little more work for us, but it will be worth it. So on that note, let\u2019s dig deeper and get ahead of our competition (this is where everyone else usually gives up--but not you).<\/p>\n

Tax Rolls <\/em>really are a great source of information.<\/p>\n

*Pro Tip<\/em><\/strong>:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>Not every tax assessment is accurate. (Keep this in mind as you\u2019re pulling that information and data.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another search suggestion...but I share it with a caveat\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Find<\/a><\/p>\n

Online Name Search<\/strong><\/h4>\n

If you have the owner or motivated seller\u2019s name of the vacant house, then you can search for more information about them online (by Googling their name and city).<\/p>\n

But...by doing this, it\u2019s important for you to keep in mind that you could either come up empty-handed or, in some cases, (if they have a common name) the search could bring up too many results to comb through, thus leaving you uncertain of where to even start. No one likes dealing with uncertainty, which is why I consider this tactic a waste of time.<\/p>\n

FSBO (not for the faint of heart)<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Then there\u2019s this one (that takes a lot of boldness, folks). You place an FSBO sign with your<\/em>\u00a0phone number in the yard of the vacant home.<\/p>\n

By doing this, the motivated seller will most likely hear about this and call. If and when they do call, you have to be prepared with a good and viable reason for why you put that sign there. Of course, it was accidental. :-) This will be a great time to ask if you were to pay all cash and close on the date of their choice, what would be the least they could accept.<\/p>\n

Send a Letter<\/strong><\/h4>\n

You also have the option to send a letter to the owner. (Remember from my previous post, we talked about how adding the Return Service Requested is super helpful.) Personally, I use the automated mail manager that\u2019s built into iFlip Real Estate-- my business automation CRM (and it works great for this)! Click here to try it out risk-free if you haven\u2019t yet.<\/a><\/p>\n

Okay, so let\u2019s say that the Tax Roll<\/em> address of the owner or motivated seller matches the address of the vacant house. Well, by mailing a letter to that address with \u201cAddress Service Requested\u201d on it, you would be sent that forwarding address from the USPS\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0your letter would then be forwarded to the owner.<\/p>\n

This is a good strategy.<\/p>\n

But \u2013 if you\u2019re like me and you prefer the \u2018straight-forward method\u2019 \u2013 just go directly to skip tracing.<\/p>\n

Why Skip Tracing Is The Best<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Plain and simple, skip tracing is the heavy hitter\u2019s method of locating missing, motivated sellers.<\/p>\n

All that you need for a skip trace is the owner\u2019s first and last name (and remember, you can get this info from the Tax Rolls) and the vacant home address. Yes, that\u2019s all you need.<\/p>\n

In reality, skip tracing is actually an elaborate way of saying, \u201cthe process of locating someone\u201d.<\/em> Historically, the word originated from an old term, which related to landlords that were tracking down a \u2018skipped tenant\u2019 who ran off and missed a rent payment or didn\u2019t pay for damages.<\/p>\n

Initially, when I first acknowledged the significant amount of value that skip tracing had to offer to real estate investors, I immediately knew that I had to create the fastest (and easiest) way to cash in on deals that your competition couldn\u2019t touch. So it was then that I decided to create a skip-tracing business called\u00a0Find the Seller.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Finding<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s easier than ever to run circles around your competition by finding houses that they can\u2019t touch. Skip tracing is a game-changer<\/em>. Over the years, I\u2019ve heard from countless students and clients who\u2019ve said how valuable this strategy is.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last skip trace got me $7,500 in about a week\u2019s time. Other investors were mad\u00a0because they had been trying to find the seller and couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Paid skip tracing<\/em>--is searching for records that are not available to the average Joe (you), that oftentimes produce the results you\u2019re looking for (In our case-- the phone number and other vital details about the owner or motivated seller of the vacant house.)<\/p>\n

Because the fees for skip tracing vary, I humbly suggest that you check out FindTheSeller.com<\/a> where you\u2019ll find the industry's most competitive pricing. Then consider that FindTheSeller.com was founded by and caters specifically to Real Estate Investors.<\/p>\n

Hide & Seek Revealed<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Let me explain why it\u2019s usually super difficult to locate motivated sellers\u2026<\/p>\n

As investors, oftentimes, the motivated sellers that we\u2019re searching for aren\u2019t leaving any kind of trail (or bread crumbs) behind to help us locate them. Or perhaps they've recently moved out and the new trail hasn\u2019t been made public just yet.<\/p>\n

Investor or not, we are all human, and as we progress through our daily lives, we leave a trail of where we are and what we\u2019re doing. And that trail, folks, is relatively available to professional skip tracing services.<\/p>\n

Here are some common ways people create trails<\/strong>:<\/p>\n