Vacant homes owned by LLCs

[Kat Rathell]

I have been trying to look for our next C-class property in Milwaukee, WI by driving around and checking out vacant homes - owner information, etc.

I have found a few in the areas where I am interested in buying, but upon checking it turned out that some of them are owned by investment LLC and some - by out of state investors with property management companies as their registered agents.

I'm fairly new at this, so I was wondering why would an investment LLC or a property management company keep a property vacant for an extended period of time, is this some ‘vacant' buy and hold strategy that I'm not aware of? Those properties are not in areas that appreciate it so I would not expect equity to grow, if anything they may depreciate overtime.

Any advice on the subject would be very much appreciated.

Also, is approaching an investment company or a property management company with a purchase inquiry any different than approaching an individual?

Thanks in advance

[Paul Barbeau]

Kat, I am also confused by the fact that anyone would leave a home vacant for an extended period of time. So who knows why they are but regardless, if you find the LLC name it looks like you can go to www.wdfi.org for Wisconsin and get the info for the registered agent. You can then start marketing to this person to see if they want to sell. 

It also wouldn't hurt to call the management company and see if they'll put you in touch with the owner. If they are vacant with tall grass, needing cosmetic updates, etc. it seems to me that someone might want to get rid of it!