Wholesaling leads from the public record

Most wholesaling leads fail for one of two reasons: the owner had no reason to sell, or the numbers never worked for an end buyer. This guide covers where wholesale leads come from, how to tell from public records whether a distressed owner has the equity to sell at a discount, and how to qualify a deal before you mail.

What makes a good wholesaling lead

A wholesale deal only exists when three numbers line up:

• What the owner will accept. Driven by their situation and how much they owe.
• What your end buyer will pay. Many cash and DSCR-financed buyers are buy-and-hold landlords. Their ceiling is set by rent, taxes, insurance and the loan.
• Your fee in between. If the first two numbers leave no room for it, there is no deal, however motivated the seller.

So a good lead has a dated reason to sell, enough equity to sell below market, and a property a landlord can finance at your price.

Where wholesale real estate leads come from

Public records give a specific, dated trigger. The catch is the labor of finding new filings and tying each to a property.

The records to watch

• Foreclosure filings. Where foreclosure goes through the courts, the first record is a lawsuit or lis pendens, months before a sale. Where it does not, the first public record is often a sale notice weeks ahead. Propertiz has filings in Tampa, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Palm Bay, Clermont, Cincinnati and Dayton, and sale notices or sheriff sale lists in Canton, Elyria, Batavia and Houston.
• Unpaid property taxes. A growing balance, a tax-sale list or a tax-deed sale. The owner can usually still pay, and a sale to you can fund that. Covered in Orlando, Indianapolis, South Bend, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Canton, Elyria, Batavia and Houston.
• Code cases. Open violations and condemnations, often a vacant house or a tired landlord. Covered in Tampa, Orlando, Lakeland, Indianapolis, South Bend, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton and Dallas.
• Probate. Heirs who live elsewhere often want one clean sale; write to the personal representative. Covered in Tampa.
• Evictions. A landlord with a problem tenant may be ready to sell. Covered in Tampa, South Bend, Cleveland and Houston.
• The parcel roll. Owner name, mailing address, owner-occupancy status and sale history. The absentee owner guide covers how to read it.

Finding distressed owners with equity

A seller who owes more than the house is worth cannot sell at a discount without the lender's approval, which is a slow short sale. Equity is value minus what the owner still owes, and public records only show it indirectly. Value comes from recent comparable sales of similar homes in the same zip, or from the county's appraised value where there are no usable sales. What the owner owes is harder:

• Recorded mortgages. Where you can search every recorded mortgage and payoff, find the loans taken since the owner bought, drop the ones paid off, and estimate what is left. Propertiz does this in Jacksonville, from the Duval County Clerk's Official Records.
• The last sale. Everywhere else, the loan is estimated from the last arm's-length sale price, assuming a standard mortgage paid down to today. Refinances and home-equity loans are invisible this way, so the estimate can overstate equity.
• Old purchases in foreclosure. If the owner bought decades ago and is in foreclosure today, they almost certainly borrowed again. Treat equity as unknown.
• No sale prices. Texas does not disclose sale prices, so there is no purchase price to estimate the loan from. Equity there is often unknown, and value comes from the appraisal district's market value.

Unknown equity means you have to ask, or pull title, before you make an offer.

Qualifying a wholesale lead before you mail

1. Estimate value from recent sales of similar homes nearby.
2. Work out your buyer's price. For a landlord, start from rent and back into the price at which the deal covers its payment with the margin a DSCR lender wants.
3. Recompute taxes on that price. The seller's bill often reflects exemptions or caps that end at the sale.
4. Estimate equity, and flag it when it is unknown.
5. Check the deadline. A sale date next week rarely leaves time to find a buyer and assign the contract.

Run the payment side in the DSCR calculator.

Outreach that holds up

Direct mail to the owner's mailing address on the tax roll is the simplest channel. Calls and texts are regulated federally and by each state; each state page lists the rules that apply there. Say who you are, that you can close on their schedule, and that you may assign the contract to another buyer if that is how you work. Owners facing foreclosure are under stress, so be plain and do not promise outcomes you cannot deliver.

Pitfalls that cost wholesalers money

• Non-assignable contracts. Bank-owned (REO) and some listed-property contracts prohibit assignment. Read the clause first.
• Hidden liens. Foreclosures and tax-sale properties often carry HOA, code or second-mortgage liens. Order title early.
• Wrong owner. A filing matched to the wrong parcel puts a foreclosure letter in a stranger's mailbox. Verify the match.
• Stale filings. A filing from last spring may already be resolved.

By state

Florida. Foreclosure goes through the courts, so a lis pendens usually comes months before a sale, and sale prices are public. Propertiz covers Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Palm Bay and Clermont, with tax-deed sales in Orlando and Jacksonville and probate in Tampa. The Florida wholesaling guide covers the records county by county.

Ohio. Foreclosure also goes through the courts, and sale prices are public, so equity is estimated from the last sale. Propertiz covers Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Canton, Elyria and Batavia, with sheriff sales in Canton, Elyria and Batavia.

Texas. Most foreclosures are non-judicial: the first public record is usually a notice of trustee's sale, and sales are held on the first Tuesday of the month, so the window is short. Sale prices are not public, so equity is often unknown. Propertiz covers Houston and Dallas, with trustee's sale notices in Houston.

Indiana. Foreclosure goes through the courts. Propertiz covers Indianapolis and South Bend, starting from unpaid taxes on the Marion County Treasurer's tax-sale lists. The Indianapolis roll has no sale history yet, so equity is not estimated there.

How Propertiz helps

Propertiz covers 17 counties across 4 states: Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Texas. It ties each distress record to one parcel and underwrites the property as a rental with a DSCR loan at your purchase price, with taxes recomputed on that price and rent from HUD Small Area Fair Market Rents.

Leads are ranked by a score that stacks distress with absentee owner, long ownership, estimated equity and owner-occupancy status, with the reasons shown on each. Set the buy box to match your end buyers, open a one-pager per property, and export the owners' mailing addresses. There is no skip tracing or phone data. What each county includes is on its page: 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).