Property owner search red flags?

[Patrick Jacques]

Ive been searching the county records and tax collectors for abandoned properties, trying to locate an owner and/or address to write to.  Is there any info that you may come across when finding the owner that you'll automatically say "this property isn't worth the effort"?  Or is it worth the chance of sending a yellow letter/postcard/mail regardless and hope for the best?

[Alison M.]

Patrick, I think it will be tough sledding to go through tax record data without some other kind of filtering. You can do what Michael suggests and buy a list and/or get an agent colleague to give you an absentee owner list from your multiple listing service. I would say that houses that have tax values at or below the mean value for your city and that are absentee owned may be good candidates.

Alison "Data is My Life" Miller