Create a free account to save articles, track your reading, and ask questions in the forums.
"Skip tracing is the bridge between a property address and a seller conversation. Without it, your entire lead list is just a pile of addresses."
You've built a list of distressed properties or pulled a probate lead list or identified pre-foreclosure filings. Now what? Those are addresses and names — not phone numbers. Skip tracing is the process of using that minimal identifying information to locate the owner's current contact details: phone number, email, and mailing address if they don't live at the property.
The term comes from debt collection, where collectors would "skip" (as in the subject "skipped town") trace to find people who had moved. In real estate, we're not chasing debtors — we're finding property owners who may not be reachable through public records alone.
What Is Skip Tracing?
Skip tracing is the process of locating a person's current contact information using a combination of public records, proprietary data sources, and consumer databases. In real estate investing, it typically starts with a property address and an owner name (from county assessor records) and returns:
- Mobile and landline phone numbers (multiple, ranked by confidence)
- Email addresses
- Current mailing address (if different from the property)
- Relatives and associated names (useful if the primary owner is unreachable)
Skip trace services pull this data from credit bureau records, utility activations, voter registrations, USPS change-of-address records, social media, and other data aggregators. No single source has everything — the best services layer multiple databases for higher hit rates.
The Data You Need First
Most skip trace services require at minimum:
- Owner first and last name (from county assessor records)
- Property address
- Owner mailing address (if listed separately in assessor records)
You get all of this for free from your county assessor or tax collector's website. Most counties have searchable online databases. You enter the property address and get back the registered owner's name and their tax mailing address. That's your input for the skip trace.
If you're running a large list, use a data service like PropStream or ATTOM to pull owner information in bulk rather than looking up each property one at a time.
Best Skip Tracing Tools in 2026
BatchSkipTracing
Best pure skip trace value
Upload a spreadsheet, get results back within minutes. Widely used by high-volume wholesalers. No subscription required — pay per record. Best starting point for most investors.
PropStream
All-in-one (data + skip trace)
Pulls owner data, builds lists, and runs skip traces all in one platform. Slightly less deep than dedicated skip trace services but convenient if you're already using PropStream for list-building.
DealMachine
Best for driving for dollars
Skip trace runs directly from the app when you pin a property. No exporting required. Cost per skip trace is built into the subscription.
REISIFT / REIPro
CRM + skip trace combined
Full workflow tool: skip trace, track follow-ups, and manage your lead pipeline all in one place. Better for investors running 50+ leads per month.
TLO / TransUnion TLO
Highest hit rate and data depth
Used by law enforcement and professional debt collectors. Access typically requires a business account with documented permissible use. Overkill for most investors but elite for high-volume operations.
Recommendation for new investors:
Start with BatchSkipTracing. Pay per record, no subscription, good hit rates, simple CSV import/export. Once you're running 200+ leads per month consistently, evaluate whether an all-in-one platform saves you enough time to justify the monthly fee.
What Good Results Look Like
Skip trace hit rates vary by list type and the age of your data:
| List Type | Expected Phone Hit Rate |
|---|---|
| Recent owner data (current assessor records) | 65–75% |
| Older or stale owner data (2+ years) | 50–65% |
| Out-of-state owners | 60–70% |
| Corporate / LLC owners | 30–50% (harder — find registered agent or principal) |
| Estate / deceased owner records | 40–60% (find executor through probate records instead) |
A 65% hit rate on a 200-property list gives you ~130 phone numbers. Expect 20–30% of those to be invalid or wrong numbers when you actually call. That still leaves 90–100 real conversations to have from one driving session.
Using Your Results
Most skip trace results return multiple phone numbers per owner, ranked by confidence score. Call the highest-confidence number first. If no answer, leave a brief voicemail and try the second number in a few days — don't call all numbers on the same day.
For records where you got an email but no valid phone, add them to a direct mail sequence. For records with no contact at all, send mail to the owner's last known mailing address from the assessor record.
Log every contact attempt in your CRM. Mark the status (reached / voicemail / wrong number / not interested / call back). Consistent follow-up over 90–120 days dramatically increases conversion — many sellers who hung up on your first call will be ready to talk three months later.
Staying Compliant: TCPA and Do-Not-Call
Calling people you found through a skip trace without their consent is a legal gray area that has gotten investors sued. The key rules:
- !
The TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act): Prohibits using auto-dialers or pre-recorded messages to call mobile phones without prior written consent. If you're using a dialer system with a predictive or automated component, you need consent. If you're cold calling manually from a list, you're in a different legal bucket — but still need to respect DNC.
- !
The National Do Not Call Registry: You're required to scrub your list against the National DNC Registry before calling. BatchSkipTracing and most services can do this automatically. Do it every time you run a new list — don't rely on an old scrub.
- !
State-level rules: Some states (California, Florida, Texas) have additional restrictions on cold calling and texting. Consult a real estate attorney in your state if you're running high-volume outreach.
Bottom line
Scrub every list against the National DNC Registry. Don't use auto-dialers on mobile numbers without consent. Always identify yourself and your purpose at the start of every call. These three rules protect you from 95% of compliance risk.
Carlos Rivera
Wholesaler & Acquisition Specialist · 620 posts · REICommunity Contributor
Carlos has wholesaled 90+ properties across Texas and Florida, primarily through direct-to-seller marketing. He started with driving for dollars and zero budget and now runs a six-person acquisition team.
Join the conversation
0 investors are already discussing this article. Share your experience or ask a question — free members get full access.