Skip Tracing

Skip tracing in real estate refers to the process of locating current contact information for a property owner who may be difficult to reach — including home phone numbers, mobile numbers, email addresses, and forwarding mailing addresses. The term originated in debt collection and bounty hunting, referring to someone who has 'skipped' (left without a forwarding address). In the foreclosure investment context, skip tracing is used to find direct contact information for homeowners whose properties are in pre-foreclosure so investors can make pre-auction offers.

Texas Context

In the Texas foreclosure market, effective skip tracing means contacting a distressed homeowner within 24 hours of a lis pendens or NOSTS filing — before any other investor has had the opportunity to reach them. The 21-day window between NOSTS filing and the First Tuesday auction is extremely compressed. Foreclosures Now provides one-click skip trace data (phone, email, mailing address) for every listed property, enabling investors to make same-day contact after receiving an alert.