Tactic for Locating BRRRR Properties

[Jacob Barker]

I'm a new investor in a tough area for real estate. Salt Lake City, UT, has very high prices, even for distressed properties. Getting creative in finding properties that aren't necessarily on the MLS may be my only option. With that in mind, I wanted to ask if anyone has tried any of the following to get leads?

I'm a cop in the area, and my department and the city have several resources that might have insight into specific addresses where a BRRRR might be found. The only questions is, how much of these sources are public information?

1. Community Intelligence Unit (CIU): This is a police unit that is very public facing, and I imagine that a lot of agencies around the country, if they're of a fair size, likely have some version of this same thing. Their job is to take complaints from citizens and City Counsel members concerning long-term problem locations and find solutions. Often times these are distressed properties that may be good BRRRR's. Might we be part of the solution they need?

2. Health Department: They're constantly shutting down properties for drug contamination that are very distressed. Seems like a good find. It's very expensive for a landlord to decon a house/apartment, it might be easier to just sell it. Some are even in decent areas.

3. City Code Enforcement: Properties that are consistently getting warnings and citations for failure to care for their property could easily be rentals where the landlord is over his head and would take an out, if presented, but can't afford to fix up the place to sell it. And the complaints about these properties are probably coming in because they're found in nice areas and the neighbors are sick of the eye-sores.

4. Narcotics Squad: I doubt this would be much of a resource, you never know, but we get tips on our hotline of problem addresses all the time. If they're rentals, maybe the owner would like a solution to their bad tenant problem.

Has anyone explored these options?