All Forum Posts by: Jerry Holt

I have very fresh code violation, pending evictions and pending divorce leads available for the Cleveland/Cuyahoga County area. And, these leads would be yours exclusively.

Code Enforcement Complaints - A city inspector has issued a warning for nuisances or a distressed situation on the property. But, the homeowner has chosen to ignore it. A citation has been issued and now the homeowner is scheduled for a court hearing and will be facing fines for neglecting the property. These violations are classified as misdemeanors and you’ll have the opportunity to reach out to the homeowner while he/she is currently going through the process. A substantial portion of these will reflect absentee owners.

Pending Evictions - These pending eviction leads are different than the old aged eviction data. With these pending eviction leads you have a chance to reach the homeowner while the eviction is still in process and the tenant is still residing at the property. This is an excellent opportunity to reach the landlords faced with headaches - trying to evict someone, racking up legal expenses and possibly enduring property damages. 100% of these are absentee owners.

Again, both lead types shouldn't be confused with old data reflecting events that happened weeks or months ago. These are "live" leads, reflecting in real time of homeowners that are currently going through distressed situations. 

I have several lead types available for the Milwaukee, WI area:

Pending Evictions - With these pending eviction leads you have a chance to reach the homeowner while the eviction is still in process and the tenant is still residing at the property. This is an opportunity to reach the landlords faced with headaches - trying to evict someone, racking up legal expenses and possibly enduring property damages.

Housing Code Enforcement Complaints - Housing code violations reflect properties with nuisances such as, but not limited to, high weeds/grass, junk vehicles on the property, excessive trash and debris on the property and also in some cases structural damages to the home. Some are vacant. Some are occupied. Some reflect renters trashing the property. Others are owner occupied that are neglecting their property.

Pending Divorces: These leads reflect only couples that own real property that are currently going through the divorce process. In some cases decisions will need to be made regarding the real property. By contacting them while the divorce is in progress you will be able to offer options they may not be aware of.

All of these lead types shouldn't be confused with old data reflecting events that happened weeks or months ago. These are "live" leads in real time reflecting homeowners that are currently going through these events.

In addition, all of the above lead types will reflect that the property is currently off-market and you will be provided with estimated values. Property types are also verified on each one and you will only receive leads reflecting the types of properties you are seeking to purchase.

@Tony Marcelle If your looking for tired landlords you should pull the fresh eviction filings for Jefferson county. This gives you a chance to reach landlords currently going through all of the hassles and headaches of evicting someone. They are incurring expenses and in many cases damages/repairs regarding the property. Contacting these homeowners while the eviction is still in progress is a great time to reach them at their most frustrating moments. And, you'll find that some will be burned out and will be interested in hearing what you have to offer.

You might also want to consider looking into the 311 database, specifically the complaints reflecting homes with trashed yards, junk vehicles and other nuisances. I've found in other areas that with code violations about 25% to 30% of the owners don't reside at the property. In these cases the property could be vacant or they could have a renter trashing their property. Kind of like driving for dollars but you don't have to waste time and gas. Good luck!

@Kike-Lola Odusanya  For Atlanta you will need to go to the Fulton county courthouse. It's been a while since I sourced probate data there but they used to have three work stations in the probate department for public use. You'll need to look up the cases using the Odyssey Case Manager. You don't need the decedents name or address. But you will need to ask the clerk for the case number for the most recent probate filed. A case number would look like PC-2018-001128. Once you get the most recent case number enter it into the system and it will provide you will case details such as the decedent's name and address, petitioner's name, address and phone number and also the attorney's info. 

For each case you look up you'll need to enter the case number to pull it up. This is done by using most recent case number the clerk provides you, then work backwards in numbers. Using my example you would first use PC-2018-001128, then PC-2018-001127, then PC-2018-001126 and so on.

It's a funky system they use but it can be done fairly quickly once you get the hang of it. I used to bring a camera with me and take pictures of the screen shots to save time and then later enter the data into a spreadsheet. 

Good luck!

@Joe DeFarias  It looks like you are in Middlesex county. Before you start searching everywhere Just do a quick current owner search first by entering the old owner's name in the register of deeds database. Then you should be able to determine if the property has been sold or transferred. You can find it at http://www.masslandrecords.com/middlesexsouth/. Good luck!

@Christina Eastwood   Probates can be a competitive market. I would tend to agree with David above in that fresher lead data can have it's advantages. If you haven't already, before you start your mailings I would also do at least one more step with your list. That would be to verify that the decedent in fact owned real property. You'll find that in about 35% of the probate filings that the deceased didn't own property to begin with. Good luck!

@Chris Holdren  Welcome to BP Chris! After a couple years working with investors, mainly in southeast and eastern states, I recently returned back to my hometown of Portland and I also am getting ready to go into the investing arena myself, primarily for the same reasons you are. Portland has a pretty solid market at the moment. Good luck and maybe I'll see you at one of the meetups here.

@Hanna Brown  I'm also interested in learning more about these. I first heard about purchasing redemption rights about 4 years ago and knew a public record researcher that was helping a married couple locate certain pre-foreclosure indicators in the Portland area. They would contact the homeowner in default and make an offer to purchase the rights. Was told they were doing pretty good and don't know much else. And, I'm sure things are more competitive now. Either way I also would like to learn more and hope someone that knows the ropes responds.

I know of investors who text as a follow up to an inquiry. But, it sounds like you want to use texting as a cold call approach. Please keep us posted on how it goes.

@William Selig  The Cuyahoga county auditors website is definitely lacking when it comes to locating owners mailing addresses. But, at least they provide the owners names. In some counties in California the auditors websites don't even provide owners names, let alone their mailing addresses. Using the tax information can be one avenue for you. But it's not going to be 100% accurate. If the tax address is different than the property address run the tax address through the auditor's site as well. If the owner names match than it might be safe to assume that would be the correct mailing address. Good luck!