When a lead's mailing address doesn't match where the owner actually lives (common with absentee owners, inherited properties, or landlords), skip tracing is how you find a working phone number to reach them.
1. Understand what data you're starting with
Most wholesale leads start with a name and a property address, pulled from county tax or assessor records. If the owner lives at that address, a simple lookup (or even a direct mail piece) may reach them. If they don't — common in probate, absentee-owner, or inherited-property leads — you'll need to trace their current location.
2. Check the mailing address on file
County assessor records often list a separate "mailing address" from the property address itself. If it differs, that's a strong first clue about where the owner currently lives, and sometimes enough to send mail directly.
3. Use free or low-cost lookup tools first
Basic tools like white pages sites, social media searches, or a simple Google search of the owner's name plus city can sometimes surface a phone number or additional address for free, especially for common names paired with distinct locations.
4. Use a dedicated skip tracing service for scale
For lists of more than a handful of leads, dedicated skip tracing services aggregate data from credit header records, utility connections, and other public/licensed sources to return phone numbers and additional addresses in bulk, typically priced per record (roughly $0.10-$0.30 per record as an estimate, varying by provider and match rate).
5. Prioritize which leads to skip trace
Skip tracing costs add up, so prioritize leads that match your buy box most closely and show strong distress signals (vacant, tax delinquent, absentee) before spending on lower-priority leads.
Skip Tracing Approaches Compared
| Approach | Cost | Speed | Typical Match Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual free lookups | Free | Slow | Low-Medium |
| Bulk skip tracing service | Per-record fee | Fast (batch) | Medium-High |
| Offr AI (included with leads) | Included in subscription | Instant | High (returned with every lead) |
6. Verify the number before calling
Not every skip-traced number is current. Look for secondary confirmation — a matching name on caller ID lookup apps, or a LinkedIn/social profile in the same city — before investing significant time.
7. Use multiple contact attempts and channels
If the first number doesn't connect, try texting (a shorter, less intrusive first touch), and check for a secondary phone number or an email if the service returns one. Many owners respond better to a text than a cold call.
8. Respect do-not-call and TCPA rules
Skip-traced numbers can include cell phones subject to telemarketing regulations (like the TCPA in the U.S.). Rules on cold calling and texting vary by state and by number type, so confirm current requirements before running large outreach campaigns, and consider using a compliant dialer platform.
9. Combine skip tracing with lead generation
Rather than running skip tracing as a separate step after pulling raw county records, Offr AI returns skip-traced owner phone numbers directly with every generated lead — so a plain-English buy box search produces ready-to-call contacts in one step instead of two separate tools and data exports.
10. Keep your data organized and compliant
Store skip-traced contact info in your CRM alongside the lead's source and consent/compliance notes. This keeps your outreach organized and provides a record if compliance questions arise later.
Once you have a working number, review how to find motivated sellers for calling scripts and qualifying questions, or explore the batch dialer feature to work through skip-traced leads efficiently.