How To Find Absentee Homeowners

How To Find Absentee Homeowners For Free

December 2, 2021

Produced by:
Richard Stevens

Richard Stevens is an active real estate investor with over 8 years of industry experience. He specializes in researching topics that appeal to real estate investors and building calculators that can help property investors understand the expected costs and returns when executing real estate deals.

It’s important to analyze every path to profitable real estate investment. Decide if you want to become a full-time realtor, a broker, a wholesaler, or simply a financial investor. The real estate spectrum is broad with each pathway providing certain financial advantages and risks. 

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We want to take a closer look at finding access to a very important demographic of homeowners. We call this group ”absentee owners”, these homeowners are typically categorized as those that do not reside in a home or property they own.

As an investor, it’s your job to make an absentee owner see the potential in their asset.

Who do we consider an ”Absentee” owner?

Before we describe the ideal absentee owner, let’s make sure you know that this group of homeowners is diverse. Some absentee homeowners simply own property to take advantage of property appreciation. These owners may be less eager to sell their property. Others may have vacation homes or homes they use for rental purposes such as a landlord.

These owners see the value in their assets but would always be open to making money in a sale. Finding these types of owners can be tricky. Locating sources through a purchased absentee list can become expensive if you are not securing leads that lead to sales. 

With multiple properties, there can always be complications. The consistent maintenance can be a financial burden for many homeowners, this is ideally how a hungry investor can build a strategy to turn the unused asset into a profit. The truth be told, most homeowners do not have the luxury of living outside of a home without it somehow becoming a burden, so having information that helps you identify those burdens will put you in a better position to close the deal. Real estate takes a risk but offers a tremendous reward, you want to learn a little more about investing in real-estate read our latest piece How to Invest 100k in Real Estate.

Vacant homes stay empty and in many cases become desolate due to many factors; lack of finances, family mishandling, or just lack of real estate knowledge. This creates the opportunity for an investor to come in.

A direct list of absentee owners can be found easier than most people realize. As I said before, this list can be expensive but there are ways around the cost. You will need to take some extra time and research to gather the information you need to contact the homeowner. Here are a few of the best ways we know how to access free absentee homeowners lists.

Top 3 Ways To Find Absentee Homeowners For Free

Explore Rental Listings

Rental listings provide you direct access to homeowners in your direct area. These listings offer information that can help identify how long a property has been vacant and how long the property tends to have occupants. An absentee owner that can’t keep consistent renters will be more open to negotiating on their asset.

Navigate Tax Records

Dive into the tax records in your local area. Matching tax records with the property addresses of prospective properties will indicate which owners are not residing in the property. When a homeowner’s primary residence doesn’t match the property it typically indicates a prime candidate. Real estate professionals would be able to use the information for a direct mail campaign or another marketing tool, especially if you see a profiting investment.

Neighborhood Canvassing

Hungry investors get out and find homes that have any signs of ”neglect.” These signs indicate no one is actively living in the home or a landlord is not actively having routine landscaping or regular maintenance. High grass or weed patches are key signs to look for when identifying a potential home with an absentee owner. Before you get out and find your next property take a few minutes and read a great post from our blog Best places to buy rental properties in the USA.

Final Thoughts

A strong list of absentee homeowners can be the stimulation of your business needs. The leads could create a deal that changes your life. The time spent matching tax records with property addresses or going neighborhood to neighborhood identifying homes can ultimately lead to large profits, so take advantage of these free outlets. Real estate is about leads, the more people you can contact that fits your profile, the more opportunities you will have to make deals. Our goal is to help you reach those potential deals faster.

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