Perfect Storm stacks

Ghost Owner

A death on record, an empty-looking house, tax unpaid. Heirs who inherit a house they do not live in and cannot easily keep up are often open to a simple sale.

Records only: it means the deed or the owner name reads as an estate, not that we know anyone has died.

• Harris (2,483)
• Dallas (1,228)
• Duval (948)
• Franklin (531)
• Hillsborough (437)
• Lucas (299)

1. A death-related deed or an estate / heirs owner on record
2. The house looks empty (model score or a city vacant-structure case)
3. Property tax is past due

Last Straw

Two years behind on tax and a lien or foreclosure case on top. This is the stage before the county or a lender takes steps; owners here have a clock running.

It counts the county's own delinquency, lien and foreclosure records. It does not say how a case will end.

• Philadelphia (70,180)
• Hillsborough (22,105)
• Duval (21,637)
• Orange (17,389)
• Cuyahoga (5,768)
• Mecklenburg (5,616)

1. Tax is past due for 2 or more years
2. A tax lien or a foreclosure case is on record

Long Hold Estate

Held 30 years or more, now in a trust or estate. Long-held family homes tend to change hands all at once when the generation holding them steps back.

Tenure comes from the last recorded transfer. A trust is often estate planning, not a reason to sell.

• Pima (15,798)
• Hennepin (7,959)
• Franklin (7,282)
• Middlesex (5,679)
• Clark (5,422)
• Montgomery (3,976)

1. Owned for 30 years or more
2. The owner is a trust or an estate, or the last deed is death-related

Paper Rich

Long held, worth twice what was paid, owner lives elsewhere. A lot of paper equity and no one living there: the cost of holding is easier to see than the gain.

Equity is a rough comparison of county value to the last sale, not an appraisal and not a mortgage balance.

• Lee (30,293)
• Miami-Dade (27,487)
• Orange (24,448)
• Philadelphia (23,634)
• Clark (23,502)
• Maricopa (19,056)

1. Owned for 15 years or more
2. County value is at least 2x the last sale price
3. The owner's mailing address is not the property

Landlord Under Siege

Eviction, a city case and tax unpaid on one rental. Landlords fighting on several fronts at once are the ones most likely to sell the property rather than fix it.

Court and city records are only held in some counties, so this stack appears only where we have them.

1. The owner lives elsewhere
2. An eviction was filed in the last 12 months
3. A city code case in the last 24 months
4. Property tax is past due

Far Away Drift

Out of state for 10 years or more and behind on tax. Distance makes a property easy to neglect and an offer easy to say yes to.

The mailing address is the county's. Some owners use an out-of-state agent or a family address.

• Mahoning (1,375)
• Harris (1,223)
• Lucas (1,122)
• Philadelphia (1,074)
• Cook (1,068)
• Pima (983)

1. The tax bill goes to another state
2. Owned for 10 years or more
3. Property tax is past due

Empty and Owing

Looks empty, owner lives elsewhere, tax unpaid. An empty house costs tax and upkeep every month, and nobody is there to notice a letter.

Vacancy is a model estimate unless a city case confirms it. Drive by before you rely on it.

• Philadelphia (20,045)
• Harris (7,668)
• Hillsborough (6,751)
• Franklin (6,671)
• Duval (6,636)
• Cuyahoga (5,264)

1. The house looks empty (model score or a city vacant-structure case)
2. The owner lives elsewhere
3. Property tax is past due

Equity Under Fire

Lots of equity, with a lien, a foreclosure or 2+ years of tax owed. Owners with equity to lose have the most to gain from selling on their own terms before a deadline.

Equity is a rough value-to-last-sale comparison. It is not an appraisal and ignores mortgages.

• Philadelphia (27,968)
• Franklin (9,062)
• Cook (6,635)
• Wayne (6,390)
• Orange (6,330)
• Duval (6,071)

1. County value is at least 2x the last sale price
2. A tax lien, a foreclosure case, or tax unpaid for 2 or more years