Found great abandon property. what to do next?

Question

I have been driving past this great vacant piece of property, I finally got out my car to look into the window. There was no address, so I I knocked on the door across the street. Just my luck it was a little old lady willing to get me some information about the house. She told me the owner had passed away in February 2014 and that his niece was taking care of the estate, and she lives in Florida. She also gave me the owner name and his address because there was no mailbox or number on the house.

I have the property what do I do. First I call the county they just gave the information that I already had. I am not sure if I can get his niece name or address. The little old lady did not have that. So here I am with a good lead what should I do next?

Rick H. · Answer

All you know for certain that that there is a house standing on the lot the last time you looked. The rest, including the story about the owner's death, is anecdotal. You need to first determine if there's anything worth pursuing. Here's my formula: PETIOPropertyEquity TitleInterestsOpportunitiesAfter you've research the value, the liens and the title you can determine if the owner is, in fact deceased, then check with county probate court to see if a probate has been started.There ought to be a place that you can get more info on how to deal with abandoned properties...

Account Closed · Answer

@June Alexandrea Can you maybe find out who the lawyer is handling his estate? Hopefully someone here knows how to look that information up. Once you have the niece's contact information, you can write her a nice heartfelt letter explaining how you came across the property, tell her her you feel sorry for her loss, tell her how you can remove some of the stress of the situation by solving her problem in some way and give her your contact information in case she ever wants to talk to you about it. You'd be surprised how a nice hand-written note (rather than some standard marketing brochure) can come across in a positive way.Good luck.

Shvonne C. · Answer

@June Alexandrea you should be able to find info about the deceased person via probate records. You can google the towns probate court and see if the records are online, sometimes you get lucky. If not, you'd have to go to the probate office and look it up. Some probate employees give you a hard time but be persistent, these are public records and they can't deny you access.If you're really lucky probate and the town/city clerks office will be in the same building and you can do a preliminary search on any taxes, liens, foreclosure, etc... That might be attached to the property.I agree with Rick H. about leaving the info about the death out of the letter. You just need to do a little due diligence and then send her a letter as the potential solution to her issue of having a vacant sitting property.

Wayne Brooks · Answer

As is value?Mortgage?

June Alexandrea · Answer

So far I have found out that the property has no liens or it is not in forclosure and no back taxes are do. Since the post office is right across the street from me, I was told to just write a letter and see if it will be forwarded.I will also try the rebate way and see what happens.

Rick H. · Answer

It's funny that so many people ask questions on these forums but don't really seem to want to hear the answer. Such as finding out if a property has any substantial equity before putting much time in it. Of course, that's the beauty of real estate: lots of talk but very little action, if any. Had a guy send me a copy of an $18,000 check recently, that was his share of profits in a deal I walked him thru. I was so pleased to see that he took action as suggested that his check meant more to me (that he received) than if it were payable to me.

June Alexandrea · Answer

I am trying to wholesale the property. Thank you very much I will try some of the suggestions that I receive, and let you know how I made out.Thanks to all

Annette Hibbler · Answer

I agree with Rick, before contacting niece, find out from municipality if the property has any liens on it or is it going to foreclosure. Tell them you're interested in purchasing the property and see if they have a contact name and address or perhaps attorney name. They may let you take a look at any permits pulled on the property which can give you an idea of what type of work was done and when. Another good way of finding niece: Where is the mail going to? Perhaps the post office can give you a forwarding address.How old is the property, what condition is it in on the exterior? What are houses in the area going for? Will you have to rehab it or are you thinking of wholesaling it as is? What are the rental rates for this size house in the area? Do your due diligence before you jump in with both feet.