Skip Tracing FAQ

Skip tracing is the process of locating a person's current contact information—phone numbers, email addresses and mailing addresses—by combining public records, credit-header data, utility and telecom data and proprietary sources. The name comes from finding people who have 'skipped' town. Today it is used mainly by real estate investors, lenders, collectors, attorneys and process servers. Full guide.

Licensed-only investigative platforms (TLOxp, LexisNexis Accurint) report the highest hit rates (88–95%) but are unavailable to most investors. Among services open to the public, REISkip claims 85–90% phone matches, BatchData claims a 76% right-party contact rate, and DealMachine advertises 95%+ matches. Treat all vendor figures as ceilings and test with your own records. HomeSage.ai publishes confidence scores per contact instead of a headline rate.

Tracerfy advertises roughly $0.02 per matched credit and Skip Genie bulk lists start at 13¢. At volume, platform bundles (PropStream Pro/Elite 'free' tracing) or credit-based APIs (HomeSage.ai) can be cheaper per record than pay-per-match pricing. Always compare cost per working contact rather than sticker price. Pricing guide.

Single lookups via API or dashboard return in seconds. Bulk CSV uploads of 1,000–100,000 records typically complete within minutes to a few hours depending on provider. Manual/investigator skip traces can take days.

Yes, but it requires entity resolution: matching the LLC to its registered agent, managing member or organizer via Secretary of State filings and then tracing that person. BatchData and Skip Genie are strongest here; HomeSage.ai returns owner names from the property record that you can trace further. LLC guide.

Calling is generally permitted for business-to-consumer outreach if you scrub against the National Do Not Call Registry, respect state DNC lists and call only between 8am and 9pm local time. Texting and auto-dialed or prerecorded calls to mobiles require prior express consent under the TCPA, and the 2025 FCC rules tightened consent and revocation requirements. Canada's CASL requires consent for commercial electronic messages. Compliance guide.

At minimum an owner name and property or mailing address. Adding a prior address, age range or an LLC's registered agent improves matches. APIs usually accept name + address and return phones, emails, mailing address and confidence scores.

People-search sites (Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified) are consumer tools for one-off lookups with monthly subscriptions and limited bulk capability. Skip tracing services are built for volume, return multiple ranked phones per record, include compliance flags and offer CSV or API access.

Yes. New HomeSage.ai accounts get 300 free credits to test the service. Paid plans start at $150/month ($120/month billed annually), and a limited-time 25% beta discount (code BETA25) is currently promoted. Sign up through our HomeSage.ai link to see current offers—promotions are set by HomeSage.ai and may change.