Locating Property Information

[Jason Young]

Hi everyone,

I just initiated my BiggerPockets Pro account and am excited to learn from the community as my wife and I begin our real estate investing journey.  Wanted to reach out and see if anyone had any advice on their own processes for finding a first property.  My wife and I are looking to invest throughout the Carolinas and have begun driving around for properties primarily in the Upstate South Carolina area to begin our search.  We've found some great potential areas and properties (none listed for sale), but are wondering if anyone has any ideas on an efficient process of organizing our contact information as we are looking to send out mailers and make phone calls.  It seems like the best resource has been the county websites to find property owner addresses, but logging this is a very tedious process.  Does anyone have any advice on how they've searched for and logged this type of information?  

Thanks everyone!

Jason Young

[Steve Milford]

Don't discount the value in the MLS. Everyone wants to side-step it, but there is value there. Look for properties that have been on the market a long time or that are just marketed badly. Then work with a Realtor that doesn't try and change your mind. They will have plenty of ideas for you. And if they see that you are serious they will be another set of eyes for you.

Most buyer's Realtors are paid by sellers (at least in my market), so let them approach. If it doesn't work out, you can still approach. It comes down to a time vs. money volume kind of thing.

Regarding owner addresses from county web sites, it is hit and miss. There are many that are not right, be aware. The county doesn't really care about accuracy - all they can about is if taxes are paid. And if not, then they tax lien them. About 10% of my postcards always come back to me as vacant, or not there, etc even though they are "verified" (I use first-class postcard postage).