What is Skip Trace?
Skip Trace — The process of locating property owners and obtaining their contact information (phone numbers, email addresses) when that information is not readily available in public records. Multi-source skip tracing provides better accuracy than single-source providers.
Why Skip Tracing Is Essential
You found a motivated seller's property. But the owner's phone number isn't in the county records, and their mailing address is a PO box. Without skip tracing, that lead is dead.
Skip tracing searches databases of phone records, utility connections, credit headers, and other sources to find current contact information for property owners.
Single-Source vs Multi-Source Skip Tracing
- Single-source — Searches one database. Cheaper ($0.05-0.10/record) but lower accuracy (40-60% hit rate)
- Multi-source — Searches 3-5 databases and cross-references results. More expensive ($0.15-0.25/record) but much higher accuracy (70-85% hit rate)
What "Hit Rate" Actually Means
A "hit" means the provider returned a phone number. But a returned number isn't always a working number, and a working number isn't always the right person. What matters is the contact rate — the percentage of skip traced numbers where you actually reach the property owner.
Good multi-source providers deliver 50-60% contact rates. Single-source providers often deliver 25-35%.
When to Skip Trace
Skip trace after you've filtered your list, not before. There's no point paying to skip trace 10,000 records if you're only going to call the top 2,000 after scoring. Filter first, skip trace the filtered list, then execute your outreach.
Related Terms
A property owner who has a compelling reason to sell quickly, often at below-market prices. Common motivations include financial distress, divorce, inheritance, relocation, or property maintenance issues. Identifying motivated sellers is key to successful real estate investing.
A property owner whose mailing address differs from the property address, indicating they do not live at the property. Absentee owners often include landlords, inherited property holders, or investors who may be more motivated to sell.
The process of layering multiple data filters or motivation indicators to create a highly targeted lead list. Properties that appear on multiple lists (e.g., absentee owner + tax delinquent + high equity) are more likely to result in deals.
A key performance metric that measures the total marketing spend divided by the number of closed deals. Cost per deal is more meaningful than cost per lead because it accounts for lead quality and conversion rates.
Related Questions
What is motivated seller in real estate?+
A property owner who has a compelling reason to sell quickly, often at below-market prices. Common motivations include financial distress, divorce, inheritance, relocation, or property maintenance issues. Identifying motivated sellers is key to successful real estate investing.
Read full definition →What is absentee owner in real estate?+
A property owner whose mailing address differs from the property address, indicating they do not live at the property. Absentee owners often include landlords, inherited property holders, or investors who may be more motivated to sell.
Read full definition →What is list stacking in real estate?+
The process of layering multiple data filters or motivation indicators to create a highly targeted lead list. Properties that appear on multiple lists (e.g., absentee owner + tax delinquent + high equity) are more likely to result in deals.
Read full definition →What is cost per deal (cpd) in real estate?+
A key performance metric that measures the total marketing spend divided by the number of closed deals. Cost per deal is more meaningful than cost per lead because it accounts for lead quality and conversion rates.
Read full definition →