Trying to Locate Owner

[RCL]

Hi,

I recently located a vacant property in my target market and would like to purchase as soon as possible, however, I can not find the owner.  I have spoke to the neighbors and went to city hall and gathered as much info as possible. All of the doc's (tax, land and records etc..) state that the owner still lives there but they clearly do not.  I have contacted the urban redevelopment committee and also spoke with the council women in this area to see if they could help me.  WIth all of this I have still not found any info.  THe taxes on the property go up for sale in a few months but i dont want to wait that long.  I was told by neighbors that the women who owns the house has become incapacitated and was removed from the home.  Outside of that, the neighbors had no other info on her whereabouts or family.  I also tried to call the police and fire department (b/c they removed her) but still nothing.  I am hoping someone else can give me some advice because i can not think of anything else. Please help!  THANKS...

Ryan

[tedjr]

Howdy Ryan:

If she is that bad off she may be in a MHMR favility or nursing home. If she is not mentally fit to sign a contract you will need a court order to  buy her real property. You may check the probate records too as she may be deceased.

The court deal should only cost 3 to 5 grand to get settled. This is why a lot of these properties go unsold and end up at tax sale. I know of a few like that here in Austin

[mascrub]

I just called the county clerk to find out who owns some vacant property.
She says that I need to know the owner's name to even look up the property in the records.  Can this be true?  This property has been abandoned for years by the looks of it.  What should I do next?  Ask to see plat maps?

mascrub

[Jeff Adam]

RCL:
You can try the following resources:

-Reversephonedirectory.com
-Merlindata.com
-Marologix.com
 

If that does not work, I would do a skip trace with a private investigator.

Remember, the harder the owner is to find, the better deal you will get!

You might also try sending a letter to the address with the following on the outside of the letter:

"Forwarding Address Requested"


Best Regards,
Jeff Adam

[reslynn]

RCL,

This type of property would probably go into probate or even when the property gets handled by the state.  You have to keep checking your local paper for some legal notices announcement and that's when they indicate who the point of contact.  And it could also indicate if its going to be in a sealed bid type.