What Is Skip Tracing in Real Estate?
Skip tracing is how real estate investors find accurate phone numbers, emails, and mailing addresses for motivated sellers and absentee owners. This guide explains how it works, what it costs, and how StopShopREI uses it to improve contact rates for clients.
How Skip Tracing Works
Real estate skip tracing takes a list of properties and the names tied to them, then appends current contact information using licensed data providers. The process pulls from public records, credit header data, utility databases, and proprietary data warehouses to return phone numbers, emails, and current mailing addresses for each owner.
For motivated seller campaigns, accuracy matters more than volume. A 70% match rate means three out of every ten records are dead numbers — wasted calls, wasted texts, wasted mail. A high match rate (what tier-1 providers deliver) means almost every record turns into a real conversation opportunity.
Why Investors Use Skip Tracing
Reach Off-Market Sellers
Most motivated sellers aren't listed on the MLS. Skip tracing finds the phone number that lets you make a direct offer.
Run SMS & Cold Call Campaigns
TCPA-compliant outreach needs verified numbers. Bad data triggers carrier blocks and DNC violations.
Fuel Direct Mail at Scale
Mailing to the wrong address is the #1 reason direct mail fails. Skip tracing returns the current address.
Compress Lead-to-Deal Time
Reach the owner the same day you pull the list instead of waiting weeks for cold mail to land.
Is Skip Tracing Legal?
Yes — skip tracing itself is legal because it uses publicly available records and licensed data sources. What investors do with the data is where compliance matters. Outbound calls and texts must respect TCPA consent rules, the National Do Not Call Registry, and state-specific autodialer restrictions. StopShopREI handles A2P 10DLC registration, DNC scrubbing, and quiet-hour throttling on every campaign.
How StopShopREI Delivers Skip Tracing
- Multi-source waterfall across tier-1 data providers — never a single feed
- Sample test on your list before a full run
- 24-hour turnaround on lists up to 50,000 records
- DNC and litigator scrub baked in before delivery
- Unlimited skip tracing included in the managed program (a custom plan scoped on a strategy call)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is skip tracing in real estate?
Skip tracing in real estate is the process of locating accurate contact information — phone numbers, emails, and mailing addresses — for property owners, typically motivated sellers or absentee owners. Real estate investors use skip tracing to reach owners who aren't publicly listed so they can make direct cash offers.
Is skip tracing legal for real estate investors?
Yes. Skip tracing pulls contact data from public records, credit header data, and licensed data providers. Investors must still comply with TCPA, DNC, and state-specific outreach rules when contacting the owners they identify.
How accurate is skip-traced data?
Top-tier providers reach 90–98% accuracy on phone and address matches. StopShopREI uses a multi-source waterfall (LexisNexis-tier vendors plus secondary verification) and verifies numbers before outreach with a 24-hour turnaround.
How much does skip tracing cost?
Pay-per-record skip tracing typically costs $0.10–$0.30 per record. StopShopREI clients get unlimited skip tracing included in the managed program — a custom plan scoped on a strategy call.
What's the difference between skip tracing and a lead list?
A lead list identifies which property owners to target (absentee, pre-foreclosure, tired landlord, etc.). Skip tracing turns those owners into reachable contacts by appending phone numbers and emails to each record.
Skip the Skip Tracing Headache
Stop buying records, scrubbing lists, and managing data vendors. Get pre-qualified motivated seller appointments delivered to your calendar.
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