PlotHow to Verify Ownership Before Contacting a Foreclosure Owner
The appraisal record names an owner; the deed says how they got the property and whether anyone else is on title. Check both before you reach out.
Reaching a foreclosure owner before the sale is the basis of most pre-foreclosure strategies, and reaching the wrong person wastes the one chance you may get. Ownership is a matter of record; verify it before you write.
The appraisal district record
The county appraisal district lists an owner of record and a mailing address for every parcel. It is updated from recorded deeds, with some lag, and it is the first thing to check. When the mailing address differs from the property address, the owner probably does not live there, which changes the conversation.
The acquiring deed
The deed that conveyed the property to the current owner says who took title and how. A warranty deed from a stranger is a purchase. A special warranty deed between people who share a surname is often a divorce division or a family transfer. An affidavit of heirship means the owner of record may have died and title passed to heirs who never recorded a deed. The ownership section of a PlotCipher research types each transfer this way.
Co-owners and spouses
The deed of trust being foreclosed names every borrower, and a foreclosure notice often recites a spouse who joined pro forma. A property titled to one spouse may still be community property. Address correspondence to everyone on the deed.
Entities
An owner shown as an LLC, a trust or a company is not reachable through the property. The Texas Secretary of State lists an LLC's registered agent; a trust's trustee is usually named in the deed that conveyed the property to it.
The borrower on the foreclosure notice and the owner of record are usually the same person. When they are not, find out why before assuming either one can sell.
Ownership changes after the notice
Owners sometimes deed the property to a relative or an investor after a notice is filed. Check the clerk's index for any deed recorded after the notice date; the appraisal record may not have caught up.
Where to look
Dallas County ownership comes from DCAD and the clerk's real property index; Collin County from the appraisal district and collin.tx.publicsearch.us. A PlotCipher property research pulls the appraisal record and the deed chain for any Dallas or Collin County address and reports the current owner, when they took title and how, with links to each deed, for $1.
Your Foreclosure Agent checks Dallas, Collin, Tarrant, Bexar and Johnson County every morning and emails only the properties that match what you buy.
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