Abandoned house

[Cedric Johnson]

Hello BP family,

I discovered that a friend of mine lives next to and abandoned house, that appears to have been this way for years. They said at one point in time it looked like to people where starting to work on it but then it all stopped. We assume the owner is still paying the mortgage because it has not been foreclosed on yet. My question is what steps do I need to take in order to try and get this house under contract. I'm assuming I need to try and locate the owner but how do I go about doing it. Please help BP, this could be my first potential deal and I don't want it to slip right from under me. THANKS in advance.

[Rick H.]

You need to determine if there's any equity, and if so, how much.

Start with online tax assessor which may provide name and owner of record.

Determine current owner by reviewing deeds and liens on county recorder site or visit office in person. Beware of corporate owned property, particularly bank REO (post-foreclosure).

Your ability to research properties efficiently and accurately is key in this business. There are tools available that help you do this, a few free, but most require pay per use, subscription or an active relationship with a vendor, such as a title insurance company.