Which Real Estate Lead Type Fits You? A 9-Question Fit Quiz
Authored by Carson Nordmann, Founder of Keystone Court Data. See our editorial standards.
Pre-foreclosure, probate, divorce, tax sale, guardianship or partition? Each one means a different kind of owner, a different pace and a different amount of court process. Answer nine questions about how you invest, and see how well each of the six fits you, with the reasons and the tradeoffs.
Find your fit
A starting point, not a forecast. The fit scores compare your answers with how each kind of case generally works; they are not a measure of how many deals you will find or close. Every owner and every deal is different. General information, not legal or financial advice.
The six lead types in plain words
- Pre-foreclosure: a homeowner whose lender has started foreclosure but whose house has not been sold yet. The owner still holds title and can catch up, work something out, or sell.
- Probate: a newly opened estate where the person who died owned real estate. Heirs often sell for practical reasons, and some keep the house.
- Divorce: a newly filed divorce in which the couple owns a home. One spouse buys the other out, or the house is sold and the proceeds divided.
- Tax sale: a home whose owner is behind on property tax and is on the public path to a tax sale, while the owner can still pay or sell.
- Guardianship: a court-appointed guardian manages the affairs of someone who can no longer care for themselves, and may need to sell their home to pay for care.
- Partition: one co-owner asks a court to divide or sell a shared property, often a house relatives inherited together.
How the quiz decides
No single answer decides the result. Each answer adds points to several lead types at once, some up and some down: how you exit, how much money you can bring, how long you can wait, how you reach sellers, your team, how you feel about court steps and title work, occupied houses, deal size and your experience. Each lead type's fit is its score as a share of the range it could score, so the six bars can be compared side by side.
The tradeoffs are real. Deadline-driven cases reward speed, cash and steady follow-up. Court-supervised cases with several owners move slowly and reward patience, funding and experience. Cases that follow a change in a family, such as a divorce, reward care, neutrality and referrals. Your answers are saved only in the link, so you can share a result or come back to it.
For a longer read on matching lead types to strategies, see the strategic fit framework.
Related
- Lis pendens decoder: a sample notice, part by part
- Foreclosure timeline calculator, every state
- What happens to the house in a divorce, by state
- Court filings glossary
This page provides general information and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws and court procedures vary by state. Every owner's situation is different; talk to a qualified professional about a specific deal.