Same owner name on two neglected houses six doors apart

Both houses are on the same block. One has plywood over a front window and a tarp held down with tires on the back half of the roof. The other looks fine at a glance except the lawn is dead to the dirt and the gutters have a small tree growing out of the corner. I only noticed the second one because I drove the block twice.

Assessor site lists the same owner name on both, mailing address in another state. Neither has a listing history I can find, but my county doesn't publish sale prices so I can't see what was paid or when. Tax status shows current on both, which surprised me.

What I have: two addresses, photos of each, an owner name, and 25 skip trace lookups left on a $30 monthly plan.

What I'm unsure about: whether to send one letter that mentions both properties or two separate letters that each mention one. One letter feels honest and saves a stamp. Two letters feel less like I've been building a file on somebody, which is roughly how I'd feel receiving it.

The other thing I can't read is who this person is. An out of state owner with two houses on one block is either a landlord who stopped caring or somebody who inherited a parent's rentals and hasn't dealt with it. Those two people want completely different conversations.

The actual decision this week is whether I burn a skip trace and call, or mail and wait. I have no idea which one an out of state owner responds to better.

Answer

4mikeoconnell7SP2APRO6

Mail both, separately, and don't reference the other house in either one. Two houses on one block with the same name on record is a strong signal to you, and to the owner it reads as somebody who pulled records on them. You lose nothing by keeping the letters simple.

On the phone question, I'd hold the skip trace until you get any response at all. A cold call to an out of state number where you open with "I noticed your two properties" is the version of this that goes badly. If either letter gets a reply, then spend the lookup so you have a number to reach back on when they stop answering email, which they will.

The landlord versus heir question mostly answers itself in the first two minutes of a conversation. Heirs talk about the person. Landlords talk about the tenant who left. You don't need to guess it in advance, you just need a first line that works either way, something like "I buy houses in this neighborhood and I'd like to talk about the one on X street."

One practical thing: taxes current on both is worth paying attention to. Somebody is opening the mail and paying the bill. That's a live counterparty, which is better than the alternative where the mail goes to a house nobody has entered in five years. It also means the neglect is a choice or a shortage of time rather than a shortage of money, so a low cash offer with a fast close may land better than a high offer with contingencies.

Same owner name on two neglected houses six doors apart

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