Most off-market deals start in public records: a foreclosure filed at the courthouse, a trustee's sale notice posted by the county clerk, a property tax bill left unpaid, an owner who has mailed tax bills to another state for decades. This guide shows where those records live in any state, how to turn them into a short list of deals worth pursuing, and how to reach owners first.
What "off-market" means
Off-market real estate is anything that isn't on the MLS or the big listing portals. That covers three different things:
- Pocket listings held by an agent for a few buyers. The seller already has representation and expects close to retail.
- Wholesaler deals marketed to cash-buyer lists. Someone else found the seller and added a fee. See the guide to wholesaling leads.
- Owners who haven't decided to sell yet. This is the useful group. Nobody is marketing the property because the owner hasn't hired anyone. If their situation makes a quick sale attractive, you can be the first conversation.
The work is finding owners in that third group before anyone else does, and before they list.
Why public records are the best source
Every state has a public-records law. Florida has Chapter 119, Ohio its Public Records Act, Indiana its Access to Public Records Act and Texas its Public Information Act. Court filings, recorded documents and the property tax roll are generally open in all four.
Distress shows up in those records well before a listing. In a judicial-foreclosure state, such as Florida, Ohio or Indiana, the lender has to sue, and the case moves from filing to judgment to a sheriff or clerk sale, usually over months. In Texas most foreclosures skip the courts: a notice of trustee's sale is filed with the county clerk at least 21 days ahead, and the sale happens on the first Tuesday of the month. Each step is public, dated and tied to a property and its owner.
The records that point to off-market deals
| Record | Kept by | What it tells you | Urgency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreclosure filing | Clerk of court; the county clerk for Texas trustee's sale notices | A lender started a foreclosure. The owner still owns the home. | Months in court states; weeks in Texas |
| Sheriff or trustee sale | Sheriff, clerk or county website | An auction date is set. | Until the sale date |
| Unpaid taxes or tax sale | Treasurer, auditor or tax collector | Taxes went unpaid, sometimes long enough to force a sale. | Varies by state |
| Probate case | Probate court | An owner died and an estate is open. Heirs often sell. | Months; the estate sets the pace |
| Code case or code lien | City or county code enforcement | An open violation, unpaid fines or a vacant building. | Low; a sign of a tired owner |
| Eviction | Eviction court | A landlord has a problem tenant. | Varies |
| Parcel roll | Property appraiser, auditor, assessor or appraisal district | Owner, mailing address, exemptions, values and, where disclosed, sale history. | Context only |
The parcel roll doesn't tell you anyone wants to sell. It tells you who the owner is, whether they live there and how long they've owned it. An out-of-state mailing address marks an absentee owner. Combine the roll with a dated filing and you have a lead. For the foreclosure side, see the pre-foreclosure list guide.
How to find off-market deals, step by step
- Write down your buy box. Area, property type, price range, bedrooms and flood zones you'll accept.
- Pull new records on a schedule. Search new foreclosure filings and sale notices, tax-sale lists, probate cases and code cases where your county publishes them. Texas clerks may discard trustee's sale notices after the sale date, so pull them at least monthly.
- Match each record to a parcel. Many filings don't print a parcel number, so you match by address, legal description or owner name. Be strict: mailing the wrong owner about a foreclosure is worse than missing one.
- Underwrite at your price. Value, rent and the payment you would actually carry.
- Rank and mail. Strongest situations and nearest deadlines first, then a short, honest letter.
Qualifying an off-market property
- Value. Use recent comparable sales. Where sale prices aren't public, as in Texas, start from the appraisal district's market value and inspect before you trust it.
- Taxes. A long-time owner's bill can be capped or based on an old value. Recompute it on your purchase price, or a deal that looks like it cash-flows won't.
- Equity. An owner who owes more than the house is worth can't sell at a discount without lender approval. Estimate the loan from the last sale where the price is public. Treat equity as unknown when you can't.
- Deadline. A sale date sets the clock. Too close and there's no time to close.
- Insurance, flood zone and title. Insurance and a high-risk FEMA flood zone can turn a decent rent into a negative DSCR. Foreclosures and tax sales come with other liens, so get a title search before you sign.
The DSCR calculator does the payment math at your price.
Reaching the owner
A good letter is short and specific: who you are, that you buy homes in their area, that you can close on their timeline, and how to reach you. No fake urgency and no handwritten-looking tricks. Many of these owners are in a hard spot, so be clear and respectful. Never offer to "save" a home or propose a leaseback without a local real-estate attorney. Calls and texts are regulated, and the rules differ by state; each state page lists its contact rules.
By state
Florida. Judicial foreclosure, with lis pendens recorded by the county Clerk and Clerk-run auctions. Propertiz reads foreclosure filings in Tampa, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Palm Bay and Clermont, tax-deed sales in Orlando and Jacksonville, code liens in Tampa, Orlando, Lakeland, Palm Bay and Clermont and probate in Tampa. See the Florida off-market guide and the Florida page.
Ohio. Judicial foreclosure through the county Court of Common Pleas, with sheriff sales listed online. Propertiz has foreclosure filings in Cincinnati and Dayton, sheriff sales in Canton, Elyria and Batavia, unpaid taxes in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Canton, Elyria and Batavia and code cases in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton. See the Ohio page.
Texas. Mostly trustee sales on the first Tuesday of the month, and no public sale prices. Propertiz has trustee's sale notices in Houston, evictions in Houston and code cases in Dallas, with parcels from the appraisal district. The Texas page covers Houston and Dallas.
Indiana. Judicial foreclosure ending in a sheriff sale, and an annual county tax sale. Propertiz has unpaid-tax properties from the county's tax-sale lists in Indianapolis and South Bend, with absentee and out-of-state owners. Foreclosure filings aren't included yet. See the Indiana page.
Where Propertiz does the work
Propertiz runs the steps above in 17 counties across 4 states. In each county it reads the parcel roll and the distress records that county publishes, ties each record to exactly one parcel, and holds back anything it can't match with confidence. Each property is underwritten as a long-term rental with a DSCR loan, with rent from HUD market rents. Owners are ranked by a score that stacks signals, such as foreclosure stage, tax delinquency, code cases, probate, absentee ownership, long ownership and estimated equity, and every lead shows the reasons behind its score. You set the buy box, browse the map and open a one-pager per property.
What it doesn't do: skip tracing, phone numbers or divorce data. Each county page lists exactly what's included: Tampa (Hillsborough County), Orlando (Orange County), Jacksonville (Duval County), Lakeland (Polk County), Palm Bay (Brevard County), Clermont (Lake County), Indianapolis (Marion County), South Bend (St. Joseph County), Columbus (Franklin County), Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), Cincinnati (Hamilton County), Dayton (Montgomery County), Canton (Stark County), Elyria (Lorain County), Batavia (Clermont County), Houston (Harris County) and Dallas (Dallas County). See every county Propertiz covers and what's coming next.
See this week's off-market leads in Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Texas. Ranked, underwritten and explained.