Zillow alternative for investors: finding deals before they are listed

What a listing site shows, and what it does not

A listing site shows homes that an owner or agent has already put on the market. Every buyer sees them at the same time, so the price is set by competition. It does not tell you why an owner may sell, and it does not show homes that are not listed.

What investors look for instead

• Owners with a money problem, such as unpaid property tax. About 3.0% of properties in our data.
• Heirs who received a house. 21,188 inheritance deeds in the last 12 months in the counties that publish them.
• Owners who live somewhere else. About 25.3% of properties are absentee-owned.
• Houses held a very long time. About 23.6% have been owned 15 years or more.

Where this data comes from

Every one of these facts is in a public county record: the assessor, the treasurer, the recorder, the courts and city code offices. A data tool joins them for each property and refreshes them every week. You can also build part of it by hand from the county offices.

Using both

A listing site is still useful. After you find an owner in the county records, you can look at the home and nearby listings and sales on public websites to judge value. The two tools answer different questions: who might sell, and what is it worth.

A fair note

LeadCounty is not a listing site and does not show homes for sale. It is not affiliated with Zillow or any listing website. Names are the property of their owners.