Vacant Property Lists: Verify, Reach the Owner, Make the Offer

A vacant list is short. In Boulder County, CO, October 2026 data, 1,403 of 133,279 properties on file carry the vacant flag. That small size is the point: you can afford to give every row real attention. The whole Boulder list costs $28.06 in data. The work is in what you do with it.

Two things go wrong with vacant lists more than anything else:

• The house isn’t empty anymore. Someone moved in, or it was never empty to begin with.
• The letter goes to the empty house, where nobody reads it.

The playbook below handles both before you spend a cent on postage.

The playbook

1. Step01

   Split the file by where the mail goes

   Compare mail_address with property_address on every row. Put the rows in two piles:

   • Mail goes elsewhere. The owner gets mail at another address. These are your mailable leads.
   • Mail goes to the property. A letter here may sit in an empty mailbox for months. Hold these for step 4.

   The signals column helps: a vacant row that is also absentee already has a mailing address somewhere else.

2. Step02

   Verify before you mail

   Vacancy comes from the source data, not a site visit. Check each property you plan to mail with a street view image or a drive-by. Signs that it is still empty:

   • Overgrown yard, piled-up flyers or notices on the door
   • Boarded windows or a lockbox with no listing sign
   • No car, no curtains, no lights on several passes

   Mark each row verified, occupied or unsure. Mail the verified rows first.

3. Step03

   Rank what is left

   Sort the verified rows by equity_pct, then by years_owned. An owner with equity can take an as-is offer and still come out ahead. A long-held empty house often means an inheritance or an owner who moved into care, so write with patience.

   Rows that also flag tax delinquent or pre-foreclosure go to the top, and get the gentlest letter you have.

4. Step04

   Find a real address for the rest

   For rows where mail goes to the empty house, look for another route before you give up on them:

   • The county assessor or treasurer may show a different billing address.
   • If the owner is an estate or trust, probate or trust records may name an executor or trustee.
   • If none of that works, mail the property anyway, once. Mail is sometimes forwarded.

5. Step05

   Mail the offer, then re-check next month

   Use the letter below. When the next monthly drop arrives, pull the list again. A house that lost its vacant flag may now be rented or sold, so stop sending vacant-themed letters to it.

What an empty house changes about your offer

An owner carrying an empty house pays taxes, insurance and upkeep on something that earns nothing. Your letter should speak to that burden, not to a crisis. Things worth offering, if you can deliver them:

• As-is purchase with no repairs, cleaning or showings
• Removal of anything left behind
• A closing date the owner picks
• Help coordinating with heirs or co-owners when there are several