Propertiz reads Polk County's public records every night: recorded documents, liens, foreclosure cases and code cases. It ties each record to one of the county's parcels (there are about 434,000) and ranks the owners in Lakeland and the rest of the county who may have a reason to sell.
- Every parcel and owner from the Polk County Property Appraiser, about 434,000 parcels
- Lis pendens, foreclosure judgments and foreclosure deeds from the Polk Clerk
- Code liens recorded against Polk County properties
- City of Lakeland code-enforcement cases
- Equity estimates, HUD market rents and DSCR at your purchase price
Not yet included: Tax-deed sales; Probate filings; Zoning analysis.
Where the data comes from
| Record | Source | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Parcels and owners | Polk PA CAMA files | every week |
| Recorded documents (lis pendens, judgments, liens) | Polk Clerk BrowserView Official Records | every day |
| Liens | Code-enforcement liens recorded by Polk County and its cities (Clerk Official Records) | every day |
| Foreclosure cases | Lis pendens and final judgments (Clerk Official Records) | every day |
| Code enforcement | City of Lakeland enforcement cases (ArcGIS) | every day |
How distress shows up in Florida
In Florida, foreclosure goes through the courts. The lender files a foreclosure lawsuit in the county court, the court enters a judgment, and the property is sold at a public auction run by the clerk or the sheriff. Each step is a public record, so an owner's situation shows up months before a sale, while there is still time to sell on their own terms.
Unpaid property taxes in Florida are sold as tax certificates; if the owner doesn't redeem in time, the certificate holder can apply for a tax deed, which ends in the owner losing the property.
Every record is matched to a single property before it counts, then each property is underwritten as a rental: estimated value, equity, HUD market rent and DSCR at your purchase price. A lead's score explains itself, signal by signal, so you can see why an owner made the list.
See this week's Lakeland leads. Every county's counts, map and sample leads are open to everyone. Sign up free and pick Polk County as your home county to see every lead there with its owner; an account starts with 14 days of Closer, no card.