How Can I Find Vacant Properties in My City?

Vacant homes are more than just signs of urban decay; they’re high-potential opportunities for real estate investors.

Whether you’re looking to wholesale, flip, or buy and hold, properties sitting empty are often owned by motivated sellers who are ready to offload fast. The challenge? Knowing where they are, before your competitors do.

Let’s walk through the best ways to find vacant properties in your city, and how tools like REsimpli make it faster, easier, and more accurate.

Find Vacant Properties with REsimpli’s List Builder

REsimpli’s built-in List Builder is one of the easiest and fastest ways to locate vacant homes in your market.

Here’s why investors love it:

• Vacancy Filter – Find properties flagged as likely vacant
  
• Stackable Filters – Add layers like absentee owner, high equity, tax delinquent, and more
  
• Search by ZIP, City, or County – Zoom in on your exact farm area
  
• Free Skip Tracing – Get up to 3 phone numbers and emails per owner for free
  
• Push Leads to Outreach – Instantly add leads into SMS, voicemail, or direct mail campaigns
  
• All Inside Your CRM – No exporting, juggling files, or switching platforms

It’s a complete lead-generation engine that helps you go from “I need a list” to “I just sent 50 texts” in minutes.

Quick Step-by-Step: How to Find Vacant Properties with REsimpli

• Go to List Builder inside your REsimpli account
  
• Enter your target city, ZIP, or county
  
• Apply the “Vacant” filter, then stack with others like “Absentee” or “High Equity”
  
• Click “Skip Trace” to instantly find contact info (free)
  
• Send them a text, voicemail, or direct mail, right from the CRM

No spreadsheets. No waiting days. No extra tools required.

Traditional Signs a Property Is Vacant

If you’re driving around your city looking for leads, here are the telltale signs:

• Overgrown lawn and bushes
  
• Uncollected mail or newspapers
  
• Boarded-up windows or broken fences
  
• No cars in the driveway for weeks
  
• No response when knocking

These are good clues, but they require time, gas, and effort. And you’ll only cover a few blocks.

That’s why smart investors turn to data-based property searches.

Why Vacant Properties Are a Big Opportunity

A vacant property means one thing: the owner isn’t using it. That often signals financial stress, landlord burnout, or a property stuck in probate.

And that translates into:

• Motivated sellers willing to negotiate
  
• Less competition than MLS listings
  
• Flexible deal structures for creative financing

If you can reach these owners early, you can strike deals before they hit public view.

The Smarter Way: Use a Data Tool with Vacancy Filters

Platforms like REsimpli allow you to find every potentially vacant property in a given city, without driving around or digging through tax records.

You can search by location (ZIP, city, or county) and apply a “vacancy” filter, often layered with other motivation signs like:

• Absentee ownership
  
• Long-term ownership
  
• High equity
  
• Tax delinquency
  
• Pre-foreclosure

The more filters you stack, the more likely you’ll reach owners who want to sell.

Final Thoughts: Skip the Driving, Not the Deals

Finding vacant properties in your city used to mean hours of driving, note-taking, and manual skip tracing. But now, with tools like REsimpli’s List Builder, you can pinpoint motivated sellers in seconds and start conversations that lead to deals.

Vacancy is one of the strongest seller signals, but only if you act fast.