Lists

Knowing what records to look for is somewhat straight forward initially. List only those property records that are tax delinquent. List all delinquents, including 1-2 years delinquents or even a day or month delinquent. List every property owner that did not pay their real property taxes.

Getting the list however is usually the hardest part because county employees do not give out this list on a regular basis and often do not know what you are requesting.

The rule of 5 will ease your frustrations.

The rule is simple: Generally speaking you will need to talk to 5 different county employees to find the person that will be able to help you.

Probe or do a Q&A session to these 5 people. Ask a lot of questions because in between talks, these 5 people will cite names of those responsible for the list. These people often point other people or department to do your request. Thus, you are very likely to land on the right people after 5 talks. They sometimes just direct you to a webpage where you can run your own quires.

Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig and dig deeper to obtain the list, Even if the county charges for the list this data is gold. A few hundred dollars is a minimal cost compared to profit you will make off of these valuable leads. I often buy properties at $300 and sell them at $5,000. So don’t give up the right list is worth the effort spent.