Real estate investment opportunities generate good returns but unfortunately do not come along very often. One has constantly to be on the lookout for them in classified advertisements in local newspapers/ TV channels, radio, or “for sale” sign boards. Some “out of the box” techniques of locating real estate for investing have the potential to yield better results than the well-known, routine methods. Many sellers who may be keen to dispose off their properties but are shying from doing so because of time or financial constraints would welcome a good offer for their property from a prospective real estate investor. Real estate investing can be very profitable provided the investor is innovative and works hard to locate prospective properties.

Locating real estate investing opportunities
A lot of money can be made in real estate investment by honing your skills in searching for the properties through unconventional sources like public records. Special skills are required to master the technique of examining public records. Getting training from a real estate attorney can also do this. The three key areas of public records you can use for real estate investing are:

1. The tax assessor's office. The records available in this office give information about who is paying the taxes on the real estate you are interested in. One can also find out from these records whether the property is on rent or is owner-occupied. Investment property rentals will have the tax bill going to address other than the property address. Since it is the landlord who wants to receive the tax information and not the tenant, the tax bill is mailed to the landlord’s home address. Rental investment property is not eligible for homestead exemptions; thus, if there is none, then the property is rental.

Once you have identified the property for real estate investment, check the mailing address for the tax bill and use the exemption column as a double-check to identify the property owner and his name. After getting the owner's name and mailing address, send out your proposal or deal on your letterhead to the tax mailing address. If he is a motivated seller, the deal will work out in your favor.

2. The record room. A real estate investor will find very helpful a trip to the real investment property record room, or recorder's office in some states, or the clerk of the court. This is the area of the courthouse where the deeds are filed. Check the most recent deed filed for the property you have identified for investment purposes, and see who holds the title for it. Look at the three most recent deeds in the chain of title of the same property to help establish ownership of a given piece of investment property. These are the last three deeds transferring title. The following example will clear the concept. Mr. Smith sold the property to Mr. Jones in March 1990. Mr. Jones sells it to Ms. Brown in April 1995. Ms. Brown further sells it to Mr. Hardy in October 1999. You will find Mr. Hardy's name on the title sheet, establishing him as the current investment property owner. Note their names and proceed to the next destination for final know-how on the investment property.

3. The county probate court. Go to the local county courthouse and look into the estate indices. Find the records involving the names of the title-holders. The court records will have addresses for each person, as they must have been given legal notice of the proceedings for change of title deed on property transfer. Sometimes the tax records are updated late and may not reflect the true, present owner. The tax records may reflect an order of the probate court, but the deed might not have been filed in the record room. So get the real mailing address by checking the probate court estate record. Send your business proposal to the right owner of the property.

Real estate investing can be made easier if a real estate investor uses unconventional sources to identify properties for buying. However, It is not necessary to make every deal based on public records. The use of public records gives a real estate investor a head start while dealing with any abandoned property, rental property with absentee landlords, and other special types of properties with no known owner. The public records also show how long people have owned investment property, what outstanding liens they have, the amount paid for the property, and general insights into the finances and other aspects of the property. This information proves to be a valuable tool for striking a great deal on real estate investment business.

 

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