Once you have found the areas that you want to focus on, you will want to start looking for vacant houses. But first, we need to know how to spot a vacant house.
Signs a house may be vacant:
- Tall grass/weeds
- Vacant slip in mail box
- No cars in driveway
- If snow on the ground, no tracks from cars or footprints
- Notices taped to the door
- Empty house
- House is in disrepair
- Utility shut off notices
- Boarded up
- Broken windows
- Power or gas meter gone
From this point on, always be on the lookout for vacant houses. If a house looks vacant, stop and check it out. Knock on the door, and then peak in the window. I always leave a business card or a door hanger on the front door of the vacant house.
Who knows? Maybe a relative inherited the house and has just not gotten around the selling the property, yet. They see your “I Buy Houses” business card, and their prayers have been answered.