Vacant Property with Notice posted

[Kelly Reed]

I'm new and looking to start investing. The other day I took a wrong turn and drove past a duplex that had a notice sign on it. I've been looking all over to find out who owns the property so I can send them a letter that I'm interested in it.

I can't find any record of it in our online property tax records. I did find the notice online that it was posted on Sept 3, 2012 and was supposed to go to court house sale on Oct 3rd but can't find any thing else about it.

The former owner's names on the notice. Should I contact them or possibly the bank where the loan is from?

[Rick H.]

As I read the posts on this thread, it occured to me that OP @Kelly Reed did not really indicate much beyond the discovery of a property with a notice. Sort of like finding an abandoned car (or tractor, etc.). Now what do I do with this info?

When I began buying foreclosure property, I started with a little weekend seminar that taught me the basics: find people with equity in their homes in foreclosure and buy them under market. Pretty simple. I needed to understand how and where to find foreclosure information in order to create a list, how to contact these owners, how to determine the property value, equity and the documents needed to complete the offer. It wasn't much.

Little did I have any idea that there could be so much more to know about what seemed such a simple concept. One thing that I find laughable now was how little I'd thought through the process of monetizing the benefits of owning (or controlling) a property. Hence, I had puchased properties that didn't really cash flow well and created a management burden.

My suggestion, like @Ibrahim suggests, is to create a checklist. Maybe even before this, I'd ask why I might want any property, even if it were given to you a no cost. Just like the junker car or tractor, it had better offer you something more than lawn art or a painful education. It's much easier to start reading the pilot manual now then when the engine starts to sputter.