Top Skip Tracing Tools for Real Estate and Why You Don’t Always Need Them

Real estate investing is all about having the right systems in place. Technology has made some of the most time-consuming parts of investing easier to navigate. Gone are the days of spending hours cold calling or searching phone books and online directories for contact information. 

Skip tracing tools utilize databases and technology to provide contact information for potential leads and property owners who might be hard to locate. This technology was originally used by private investigators and has evolved into a tool to help with lead generation and making off-market property investment deals.

Leveraging skip tracing tools can streamline sourcing off-market deals by helping you save time locating property owners. Not everyone is easy to find on the internet – or even public records – and skip tracing tools can be easily integrated alongside Privy to optimize your operations. 

We’re sharing the top skip tracing tools for real estate, examples of when skip tracing can be crucial, and why it’s not always necessary. Skip tracing tools are great to have in your back pocket, but Privy’s MLS data and extensive property database can also fill in the gaps. 

What are Skip Tracing Tools?

Skip tracing tools are used to get contact information for property owners you’re interested in pitching to who don’t currently have their property listed for sale. It’s typically used for off-market deals to contact homeowners whose property you’ve identified as being a potential option for your real estate investment portfolio. It’s also used to find the owners of vacant properties who might be interested in selling. 

Most skip tracing tools utilize public record databases, which include home addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. Some technology may provide additional information, including their employment status, social media profiles, and broader family connections. 

This video tutorial gives a step-by-step breakdown of how to export a list to a CSV from Privy and skip trace using Lead Sherpa. While skip tracing is not a tool offered in the Privy platform, you can easily integrate your chosen tool into your tech stack. 

Top Skip Tracing Tools for Real Estate Investors

There are dozens of skip tracing tools available to download or purchase a subscription for. Most charge on a similar basis to lead generation software and add additional expense to your market research. 

We’re sharing four of the most popular skip tracing tools for real estate investors, comparing the information they provide and their overall functionality. 

1. PropStream

PropStream is a popular skip tracing tools with a specific focus on real estate. Its database has over 160 million records for on and off-market properties, enabling you to tailor your search to suit your investor profile. While it’s suitable for investors, this skip tracing tool is best utilized for real estate agents in search of potential sellers and buyers within their local area. 

It essentially streamlines the lead generation process by incorporating skip tracing into it. PropStream’s database is curated from search engines, public records, and MLS. The platform offers over 100 filters to narrow your search to specific scenarios, including vacant properties and foreclosure listings. This skip tracing tool can save you hours of research to target your marketing and lead generation in line with your strategy.  

One of PropStream’s most noticeable features is its DNC scrubber. It automatically removes numbers on do not call (DNC) lists to prevent potential headaches. Each result from this skip tracing tool includes a property’s ownership history and overview facts to give you insights into the best outreach approach. 

However, while the platform has plenty of features, it can be overwhelming for investors and real estate agents who are not digital natives. Navigating the platform isn’t easy and has a steep learning curve. 

2. DealMachine

DealMachine is a lead generation platform that offers individual or grouped skip tracing for real estate investors with over 700 filters to suit your specific needs. Searches provide contact information, including email addresses and phone numbers, along with any additional properties associated with the current owner. 

DealMachine is designed to be incorporated into your outreach process, enabling you to send marketing materials to multiple addresses related to a single property. This option is ideal for vacant property owners or for properties with an owner who did not provide a specific forwarding address. DealMachine also helps with outreach for off-market deals with in-built lead management features, including direct mail.

3. RESimpli

RESimpli is a skip tracing tool designed to be used when you already have potential leads but need their contact information. 

It streamlines lead generation by combining your lists to remove duplicates while highlighting relevant individuals who appear on multiple lists. For example, a contact may appear on separate lists for foreclosures and vacant properties. Spotlighting these contacts can help you prioritize individuals who may be more eager to make a quick sale. 

If you already have contact information for a property owner, such as their address, RESimpli can generate multiple phone numbers. If you have no contact information, this skip tracing tool can generate up to three email addresses. The flexibility of RESimpli means it can fill in the blanks to improve your outreach strategy. 

RESimpli is more than just a skip tracing tool. Instead, it’s best to consider this a single feature within a larger CRM platform focusing on lead generation and marketing.

4. Lead Sherpa

Lead Sherpa is a TCPA-compliant SMS and skip trace platform for real estate professionals. It provides instant results with 16 data points for thousands of commercial and residential property sellers in just seconds. Lead Sherpa’s recent update includes enhanced phone number compliance checks and last sold data.

What makes Lead Sherpa unique is its dynamic pricing model that monitors users’ activities over a 13-week cycle to adjust prices accordingly. Larger real estate agencies can benefit from better rates with higher usage. If you’re an independent real estate agent or exploring off-market deals as an investor, Lead Sherpa may not be the right fit for your current needs. 

Lead Sherpa automatically removes duplicate files, provides multiple contact points for each owner, and flags DNC listings to ensure compliance. The platform enables you to search by assessor’s parcel numbers (APN) and export data rows by contact or property to suit your specific search needs. The platform claims to be able to process more than 1,000 records per minute and charges per-search. However, it does not charge you for searches already in your database. 

We’ve provided a step-by-step tutorial on how to use Lead Sherpa as a line skipping tool for contact and property lists exported from Privy.

When Skip Tracing is Critical 

Skip tracing exits to essentially fill in the blanks, but for many investors, it’s simply an additional expense. MLS data and analytics are often the best alternative to skip tracing and there’s no guarantee that the information provided by these tools is accurate. However, skip tracing can be highly effective in specific scenarios, such as for off-market deals and finding hard-to-locate property owners. 

If you’re focusing primarily on on-market listings, you might find that skip tracing isn’t necessary. Skip tracing makes off-market research easier by eliminating the need to cold call or spend hours searching for contact information. It leverages public records and databases to provide contact information in just seconds. No investor or real estate agent has the time to manually search for every lead. 

Skip tracing can give you a competitive edge in high-demand areas and up-and-coming neighborhoods. You can use skip tracing tools as the next step in your outreach strategy after identifying off-market opportunities through Privy. Our real-time data and market insights give you all the information you need to approach a potential lead and close the deal. 

On a smaller scale, skip tracing can help with networking, but it creates an additional step when Privy already provides you with networking opportunities and contact information.

Ultimately, skip tracing is best utilized for investors looking for off-market deals or who want to negotiate directly. Similarly, real estate agents can use skip tracing tools to target homeowners who may be considering selling their properties but aren’t at the listing stage yet.

Why You Don’t Always Need Skip Tracing

Skip tracing tools are great in specific circumstances, but they’re not an essential part of your tech stack as a real estate agent or investor. Privy gives you insights from networking and public records that make finding and closing deals easier without adding an additional skip tracing step. Privy’s MLS data and investor analytics are an alternative to skip tracing, giving you a fuller picture for more informed decision-making.  

For many investors and agents, skip tracing is an additional expense that can eat into your profit margin and time. It’s hard to tell if information from skip tracing tools is fully legitimate and their actual sources. By comparison, most digital natives can find the basic contact information they need within a few searches.

It’s worth remembering that skip tracing was designed with debt collectors and private investigators in mind. While platforms have developed tailored solutions for the real estate industry, they’re not always necessary for every transaction or situation. 

At Privy, we’re the only real estate platform that provides our users with first-party MLS data. You don’t have to work about sourcing issues or compliance – our data is transparent and accurate with comprehensive real estate coverage throughout the United States.

Forget Skip Tracing, Stick to Privy Instead

We live in an age of privacy and data breaches. Not every potential lead will take kindly to being contacted through information gathered by a skip tracing tool. Privy gives you access to legitimately sourced data usually provided exclusively to real estate agents. 

While skip tracing only provides contact information, Privy gives you an overview of the wider picture. You can determine a property’s investment potential without picking up the phone. Easily compare properties, network with real estate agents, and optimize your real estate strategy by monitoring housing market trends. Learn from some of the best with proven strategies that have worked for leaders throughout the Privy community.

With Privy’s LiveCMA, you can instantly analyze potential investments, including rental comps and existing home sales to navigate markets with a local investor with real-time insights. 

Privy provides similar information to what you’ll find from a skip tracing tool, including public record and off-market listings. We gather data from auctions, deeds, and tax assessments to provide a comprehensive overview of off-market properties to help determine if a potential property is worth pursuing. Our real estate investor software is automatically updated every 15 minutes to give you the latest data to stay on top of every opportunity. 

As an investor, get access to over 98% of all residential properties in the U.S. with Privy’s extensive property database and comprehensive coverage. Most of our lists generate all the information you need, eliminating the need for skip tracing for on-market deals and new listings. 

Integrating Skip Tracing with Privy’s Real Estate Tools

Skip tracing tools can fill the blanks when searching for off-market deals or hard-to-find property owners. They’re easy to integrate and use alongside Privy’s real estate tools, but their reach is limited when used alone. Privy offers the most accurate and up-to-date information, using many of the same systems and databases as popular skip tracing tools. 

If you’ve found a rare prospect on Privy without any contact information, a skip tracing tool may be an ideal option to increase your chances of a successful outreach. While skip tracing tools aren’t for everyone, they’re easy to incorporate into your tech stack to provide additional information for your property or contact lists generated through Privy.  Every investor is different and it’s important to consider your individual needs when deciding if skip tracing tools are a worthwhile investment.