After DPA Summit: Your First 30 Days with the Right Tools (2026)

You just walked out of the Grand Hyatt in Scottsdale. Your notebook is full. Your phone has 47 new photos of slides. Logan Fullmer, Kyle Westbrook, and Ryan MacDonald just laid out a complete roadmap for finding and closing distressed property deals—the whole $50K-to-$50M model. You're fired up. Now what?

Here's the honest truth: most DPA Summit attendees stall out within the first two weeks. Not because the strategy is wrong—it's one of the most proven models in real estate investing. They stall because they go home, open their laptop, and realize they don't have the tools set up to actually do the work. The strategy lives in their notebook. The execution never starts.

This guide is the 30-day tool setup plan I wish someone had handed me the day after the Summit. Week by week, tool by tool, so you go from notes to deals—not notes to nothing.

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Week 1: Get Your Data Source (Days 1–7)

Everything taught at the DPA Summit starts with one thing: finding the right properties. Tax delinquent properties with deceased owners, heir situations, and clouded titles. Before you can research, skip trace, or make offers, you need a reliable source of leads.

Don't overthink this. Your only goal in week one is to have data flowing into your pipeline by Friday.

Sign Up for LienSuite (Free Tier)

LienSuite gives you free access to Travis County (Austin), TX data—enough to learn the interface and see how scored, pre-filtered tax delinquent lists actually work. Every property is scored from 0 to 100 based on years of delinquency, deceased owner signals, heir indicators, and equity estimates. This is the kind of data the Summit teaches you to find manually, but automated.

The free tier is genuinely useful for getting your bearings. Spend a day browsing leads, sorting by score, and clicking into individual properties to see what a complete lead profile looks like: owner info, tax history, property details, and deal signals all in one place.

If you're working Texas, Georgia, or Florida markets, the Pro tier ($49/mo) opens up 80+ counties. But start free. Get familiar with the scoring system and the CSV export format before you spend a dollar.

Set Up PropStream for Equity and Comp Data

LienSuite tells you which properties are distressed and how distressed they are. PropStream ($99/mo) tells you what they're worth. You need both.

PropStream's equity filter is critical for the DPA model. A property that's $200K in tax debt with $50K in equity is a completely different deal than one with $200K in equity. Pull comps on your top-scored leads before you ever pick up the phone.

Day 1–2 action: Sign up for both tools. Export your first LienSuite list (start with a single county). Cross-reference the top 20 leads in PropStream for equity and ARV.

Bookmark Your County Clerk Websites

This is the unsexy-but-essential step the Summit covered in detail. Every deal you close will eventually require you to pull documents from the county clerk's office—deeds, liens, probate filings, lis pendens, and tax sale records.

For each county you plan to work, bookmark:

• County Clerk / Recorder of Deeds — for deed history and lien searches
• Probate Court Records — to check whether a deceased owner's estate was ever probated
• County Appraisal District (CAD) — for current owner of record and assessed values
• Tax Assessor-Collector — for detailed tax delinquency breakdown by year

Day 3–4 action: Create a bookmarks folder called "DPA Research" and add the clerk, probate, CAD, and tax sites for your target counties. You'll be living in these sites by week three.

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Week 2: Clean Your Data & Skip Trace (Days 8–14)

By now you have leads. Raw, unfiltered, messy leads. Week two is about turning that raw data into a clean, callable list. This is where most people cut corners—and it's the exact reason they burn through hundreds of calls with nothing to show for it.

Set Up REISift for List Stacking and Data Hygiene

REISift ($49/mo for the Investor plan) is a list management tool built for real estate investors. Its core value is list stacking—cross-referencing multiple data sources to find properties that appear on more than one distressed list. A property that's tax delinquent AND has a code violation AND is on a pre-foreclosure list is a much stronger lead than one with a single indicator.

This is where McKlane Bobbitt's case study becomes relevant. McKlane—another curative title investor in the DPA space—has documented making $165K from just 47 phone calls. The secret wasn't his pitch. It was his list. He stacked, cleaned, and qualified every lead through REISift before he ever dialed a number. Clean data means fewer wasted calls and higher conversion per contact.

The workflow:

1. Export your LienSuite CSV (scored and filtered leads)
2. Import into REISift
3. Stack against any other lists you have (PropStream exports, driving-for-dollars lists, code violation lists)
4. Let REISift flag duplicates, scrub bad addresses, and standardize owner names
5. Tag your stacked leads (properties that appear on 2+ lists) as priority

Run Skip Traces on Qualified Leads

Now that your list is clean, you need phone numbers and emails. Skip tracing is how you find contact information for property owners—especially important for deceased owner situations where the heirs may live in a completely different state.

Two options:

• LienSuite built-in skip trace — Convenient if you're already working inside the platform. Run skip traces directly from the property detail page without exporting data back and forth. Credits-based pricing.
• BatchSkipTracing ($0.12–$0.15/record) — Better for volume. If you're running 500+ skip traces at once, upload your REISift-cleaned CSV and batch process the whole list. Results typically come back within minutes.

Day 8–10 action: Import your LienSuite export into REISift. Clean and stack. Then skip trace your top 50 leads—the ones with the highest LienSuite scores and confirmed equity from PropStream.

Day 11–14 action: Review skip trace results. For leads where the owner is flagged as deceased, check the probate court records you bookmarked in week one. If there's no probate filing, you've found a potential curative title deal—exactly what the Summit taught you to look for.

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Week 3: Start Outreach (Days 15–21)

This is the week most people never reach. They get stuck in the research loop, convinced they need to check one more data source or run one more skip trace before they pick up the phone. Don't. Your data is clean. Your leads are scored and qualified. It's time to make contact.

Build Your Phone + Mail Sequence

REISift includes a built-in dialer and direct mail integration. Set up a simple outreach sequence:

• Day 1: Phone call attempt #1
• Day 3: Follow-up call #2 + send first mailer (handwritten-style letter or yellow letter)
• Day 7: Phone call attempt #3
• Day 14: Second mailer (different format—postcard or typed letter)
• Day 21: Final phone attempt + third mailer

Don't reinvent this. A simple 5-touch sequence over 21 days converts better than a single cold call ever will.

Use the GoNoGo Filter Before Every Call

Before you dial, spend 90 seconds qualifying each lead. The Summit covered this—not every tax delinquent property is a deal. Run through a quick GoNoGo checklist:

• Go: Owner deceased or unreachable, 3+ years delinquent, equity above your minimum threshold, no recent sale activity
• No-Go: Owner is current on payments (tax records updated since your data pull), property is in active litigation, equity is negative, property is in a flood zone with no insurance

LienSuite's scoring algorithm handles most of this automatically—properties with Go signals score higher—but do a final gut check before each call.

Direct Mail for Deceased Owner / Heir Properties

Phone calls work for live owners. But for deceased owner properties—where you're trying to reach heirs who may not even know they have an ownership interest—direct mail is often the only way in.

McKlane Bobbitt has documented closing a $51,000 deal from a single $3 certified letter. Certified letters work because they signal seriousness. When an heir receives a certified letter about a property their late parent owned, they pay attention.

For heir properties specifically:

• Send certified letters (not postcards) to the last known address of the deceased owner—heirs often still check that mailbox
• If skip trace found heir contact info, send to their current address as well
• Keep the letter simple: you're interested in purchasing the property, you understand the situation, and you'd like to discuss it
• Include your phone number and email—let them choose how to respond

Day 15–17 action: Start calling your top 20 leads. Log every call outcome in your CRM.
Day 18–21 action: Send direct mail to your deceased-owner leads and any live-owner leads you couldn't reach by phone.

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Week 4: Track & Close (Days 22–30)

By week four, you should have active conversations happening. Maybe a property owner who's interested. Maybe an heir who didn't know they inherited a tax-delinquent property and wants to sell. Now you need to manage these deals properly and start the title work.

Set Up Your Pipeline

You need a system to track every lead from first contact through closing. Two good options:

• LienSuite Kanban Board — Built into the platform. Drag leads between stages (New, Researching, Contacted, Negotiating, Under Contract, Closed). Works well if you're already using LienSuite for lead sourcing—no export/import needed.
• REsimpli ($99/mo) — A full real estate investor CRM with built-in phone, SMS, drip campaigns, and transaction management. Better if you're doing high volume (50+ deals/year) or want everything in one system.

Pick one. The worst pipeline is no pipeline. A spreadsheet is better than nothing, but a proper CRM with stages, follow-up reminders, and notes will keep you from losing deals to disorganization.

Order an O&E Report on Your Best Leads

Once you have a motivated seller and a verbal agreement on price, order an Ownership & Encumbrance (O&E) report before you go to contract. This is a lightweight title search that shows you the chain of ownership, any liens or encumbrances, and whether there are title defects you'll need to cure.

ProTitleUSA offers O&E reports for $50–$100 depending on the county. For curative title deals, this is non-negotiable. You need to know exactly what you're dealing with before you commit money.

What to look for in the O&E:

• Breaks in the chain of title (missing deeds, unprobated estates)
• Outstanding liens (IRS liens, mechanic's liens, HOA liens)
• Judgments against the owner
• Whether the property went through tax sale and who holds the tax certificate

Work Through the Title Cure Checklist

This is where the DPA Summit training really pays off. The title issues you find in the O&E report are exactly what Logan, Kyle, and Ryan covered—and exactly where most investors bail because the work looks scary. For each title defect:

1. Missing probate: File an heirship affidavit or a determination of heirship (costs $2K–$5K with an attorney, but the deal margin usually absorbs it easily)
2. Clouded title from missing heirs: Quiet title action ($3K–$7K, 90–180 days depending on jurisdiction)
3. Outstanding liens: Negotiate payoffs at a discount—many lienholders will settle for pennies on the dollar on properties that have been delinquent for years
4. Tax sale issues: Check your state's redemption period. In Texas, the property owner has a right to redeem within 2 years of a tax sale (180 days for certain property types)

Day 22–25 action: Get your pipeline set up and every active lead entered with notes, next steps, and follow-up dates.
Day 26–30 action: Order an O&E report on your best lead. Review it against the title cure checklist. If the numbers work, get it under contract.

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Budget Breakdown: What This Actually Costs

One of the most common questions after the Summit: "How much do I need to spend on tools to get started?" Here's the honest answer.

Starter Stack (~$160/mo)

For investors doing their first 1–3 deals. This is enough to find leads, research them, and manage a small pipeline.

Tool	Purpose	Monthly Cost
LienSuite (Free Tier)	Lead sourcing & scoring (1 county)	$0
PropStream	Equity data & comps	$99/mo
REISift (Investor)	List stacking & data cleaning	$49/mo
BatchSkipTracing	Skip traces (~100 records/mo)	~$12/mo
Total		~$160/mo

Scaling Stack (~$425–$575/mo)

For investors doing 5+ deals per year who need more data, more automation, and a proper CRM.

Tool	Purpose	Monthly Cost
LienSuite (Pro)	Lead sourcing & scoring (80+ counties)	$49/mo
PropStream	Equity data & comps	$99/mo
REISift (Pro)	List stacking, drip campaigns, dialer	$99/mo
REsimpli	Full CRM & transaction management	$99–$249/mo
BatchSkipTracing	Skip traces (~500 records/mo)	~$60/mo
ProTitleUSA	O&E reports (2–3/mo)	~$150–$300
Total		~$425–$575/mo*

*ProTitleUSA and skip trace costs are variable based on volume. O&E reports are per-deal costs, not monthly subscriptions.

For context, a single curative title deal can net $30K–$100K+ in profit. The tool cost is a rounding error on a closed deal. The real cost is not having the tools and spending six months stuck in analysis paralysis.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need all these tools on day one?

No. Start with LienSuite (free) and PropStream. Add REISift in week two when you're ready to clean data and skip trace. Add a CRM when you have enough active leads to justify it—usually 20+ conversations going at once.

Can't I just use PropStream for everything?

PropStream is excellent for equity data and comps, but it doesn't score properties for distress signals the way LienSuite does. PropStream shows you property data. LienSuite tells you which properties are most likely to be deals based on the specific indicators that matter for DPA work—years of delinquency, deceased owner flags, heir signals, and property type. They complement each other.

Which county should I start with?

Pick a county where you already know the market or where you have boots on the ground. If you're brand new, LienSuite's free tier includes Travis County (Austin), TX—a real market with real leads, not a demo. Use it to learn the workflow, then upgrade to your target county.

How soon can I expect to close a deal?

The DPA Summit teaches a realistic timeline: 60–120 days from first contact to close on a standard deal, longer for curative title deals that require quiet title actions. If you follow this 30-day setup, you'll have active conversations by day 21 and potentially a deal under contract by day 45–60. Curative title deals take longer (90–180 days) but command higher margins.

Do I need a real estate attorney?

Yes, eventually. For your first deal, you can get the property under contract yourself, but you'll want a real estate attorney experienced in title work to handle the closing—especially if there are title defects to cure. Budget $2K–$5K for legal on a curative title deal. Ask other DPA investors in your market for attorney referrals—not every attorney understands this niche.

I didn't attend the DPA Summit. Can I still use this plan?

Absolutely. The tool setup is the same regardless of where you learned the DPA strategy. The Summit provides the strategic framework, but the tools in this guide work for any investor targeting tax delinquent properties, deceased owner deals, or curative title opportunities. If you want to learn more about the DPA model, check out Logan Fullmer's Dirty Deeds podcast and the resources at education-re.com.

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Stop Planning. Start Executing.

The DPA Summit gave you the strategy. This guide gives you the tool stack. The only thing left is to actually do the work.

Week one is the easiest—sign up for LienSuite (free), set up PropStream, and bookmark your county clerk sites. That's three hours of work, and by the end of it you'll have scored leads in front of you. Everything else builds from there.

The investors who close their first DPA deal aren't smarter than you. They just set up their tools faster and started making calls sooner. Don't let your DPA Summit notebook collect dust.

Get started with LienSuite for free →