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There is a run down house 2 houses from a rental duplex I have. It has vines and ivy all over it. The car has not moved out of the driveway that I have seen in the year+ I have had my rental. In fact, if you Zillow the house, the aerial shot shows the car in the same place. You get the idea.
I’m wondering what would be the best way to get in touch with the owner. It looks like the owner lives at the address, but I wonder how they live there. The tax records show that she bought the house in 1988 for A LOT less than it would be worth fixed up nicely today.
Shall I go for the direct approach and knock on the door? I’m guessing nobody will answer. Then write a letter? I’m also going to talk to the neighbors, but I’m guessing people don’t know them very well. Any other ideas would be much appreciated.
I’m thinking it would be a great candidate for a Highest Bidder Sale!
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You might try knocking on her door at different times of the day in case there’s no answer the first time. If you make contact, that’s great. If you don’t, there’s a non-obvious reason for the multiple attempts approach. That way, when you next ask the neighbors about the house and perhaps her situation (it’s probably best if you ask about the house and let the neighbors spill whatever they know about the owner on their initiative), you can honestly explain that you tried to reach the owner at different times of the day but without result. That way, you don’t come across to the neighbors as a sneak or somebody with underhanded motives, which could be a bad turnoff.You might discover that her neighbors know her very well (even though you don’t – despite having your property just two doors away) and they might be very protective of her.
What you learn after all that might even give you some new information about how to craft a letter, if that’s still needed.
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Any signs that utlities are on? Is the electric meter in place?
The owner could be in an assisted living or nursing home.Try knocking on the door and leave a note at the house that you’d like to talk to the owner .
Check with code enforcement to see if they have a file on the property. Sounds like they would with the condition you described.
They may have info on the next of kin. File a freedom of information act form with them if you have to to get a copy of the whole flle.Let us know what happens
Jackie
Love the idea of knocking on neighbor.s doors. That really is very effective. I went out door knocking with Bill Cook once and it is an extremely resourceful way to get neighborhood intel. AND sometimes you find deals you didn’t even have targeted! He was a pro and we really learned a lot.
Basically be very friendly, introduce yourself and say you like buying houses in the neighborhood do you know of anyone selling? And maybe add something about that specific rundown house since it is so obvious.
Also, Since I’m on the topic,some other tips Bill recommended for door knocking were:
– Back way away from the door while waiting for them to answer.
– When they do answer position yourself to sort of lean back on one leg and have your shoulders and body at an angle so you are not squared off to them You want to present yourself as humble, sincere and NON threatening.Also…one other tip on hunting down owners….John Schaub mentioned this in one of his courses….when all else failed …..he hired a PI. If the deal is good and you are willing to think differently and do what others will not, the deal may be much better than just good!
Best of luck!
One time I went to a house that was posted for foreclosure. The balance was about $8000 on an $125,000 house. But the house looked vacant and overgrown. So, 1st thing I did was post a notice on the front door that the house was NOT FOR SALE. Yellow paper, huge black letters. I did not want competition trying to track down the owner. The signs worked!!
I talked to several of the neighbors who told me the owner, an lederly lady, was in a nursing home but they did not know which one. They also said she had a daughter that lived nearby
I called every nursing home until I found the one she was at. But she was in a coma so she could not talk. The nursing home did give me the number and address for the daughter. I went to her house to talk to her about the property. She thought I was a scam artist trying to steal the house. I showed her the foreclosure notice. Then I called the mortgage company so she could talk to them.
To make a long story short. I lent her, the daughter, $1500 to bring the payments current with the agreement that when she got ready to sell she would call me.
About 6 months later, I got that call. I asked her what’s the least she could take if I closed in 1 week with cash. She said $25,000. I did not even negotiate.
I got the house and everything in it including a car with 40,000 miles, furniture, dishes, piano, some amazing jewlery, some fly fishing rods, etc etc.
Then I SCREWED UP the deal… I decided to rehab it instead of just doing a wholesale Flip ( after I got all the stuff I liked out of the house). Five months later I got paid after the agony of rehabbing, rewiring the house, foundation repairs, etc.
I would have made more and had less hassles if I did a wholesale flip.
That was the last rehab I ever did.
Boy Jackie, that sounds like the flip I just did. NO MORE! You are so right. Thanks again to everyone for all the tips. I am heading out of town this weekend to work on purchasing an ALF, but when I get back I intend to put all these tips in motion.
I also have a call into the previous owner of my rental. He grew up in my rental so I’m thinking he might know the owner.
$6k to $7k per month is still excellent. It is really good that you got seller financing!
Brian contact a real estate agent in New Jersey to show him the houses with the most rooms. I think his has 8 rooms but he is converting the garage in to 3 a few more rooms. ALF rents are probably more expensive in New Jersey than they are in Arizona.
I finally had some time to knock on the door of the house but did not get an answer. I did talk to a neighbor however. They told me that it is an old lady and her son living there. They hardly ever see them come out. They think they have a lot of social anxiety. They also told me a family of raccoons live in the attic of the house and play out on the roof
. The neighbors have only seen them a couple of times in the last ten years or so. I am writing them a letter on a piece of notebook paper saying my wife and I are interested in buying a house in the area. Let’s see how that goes.
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FYI, if these people are correct,raccoons hate a flashing strobe light. I keep an old one handy in case I ever have a squirrel-in-attic problem. Good luck!
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