CAD Data & Property Research Masterclass: Find Hidden Heir Property Opportunities

Every profitable heir property deal starts with research. And the single most valuable—yet underutilized—resource for that research is CAD data.

CAD stands for County Appraisal District. These government agencies assess property values for tax purposes, and in the process, they collect a goldmine of data that reveals which properties have multiple owners, title complications, and acquisition potential.

Professional investors like Jordan Johns—who acquired 27 deals in Dallas-Fort Worth in just four months at an average cost of $6,900—use CAD data as a core part of their research workflow. This guide shows you exactly how they do it.

What Is CAD Data and Why Does It Matter?

Every county in Texas (and most states) maintains a County Appraisal District that:

• Assesses property values for tax purposes
• Tracks ownership records
• Maintains property characteristics (size, improvements, land use)
• Records ownership history and transfers

This data is public record. Anyone can access it. But most investors either don't know it exists or don't understand how to use it effectively.

Here's what CAD data reveals that other sources don't:

Multi-Owner Properties

When property passes through inheritance without proper estate planning, ownership often fractures among multiple heirs. CAD records show all current owners on title—not just the primary contact for tax bills.

A property showing 4, 8, or even 17 co-owners in CAD data is a strong signal of heir property. These properties often can't sell through normal channels because all owners must agree, creating the exact situation that professional investors solve.

Ownership History

CAD records show how property changed hands over time. Look for:

• Long-term ownership: Same owner for 30+ years often means elderly or deceased owner
• No recent transfers: Combined with tax delinquency, suggests estate complications
• Affidavits of heirship: Recorded documents showing inheritance chain

Property Characteristics

Unlike Zillow estimates or Redfin numbers, CAD data shows:

• Actual lot size and dimensions
• Improvement details (square footage, year built, construction type)
• Land use classification
• Exemptions claimed (homestead, over-65, disability)

Focus on As-Is Value, Not After-Repair Value

One of the biggest mistakes new investors make is looking at ARV (After-Repair Value) when evaluating distressed properties. Professional heir property investors think differently.

As-is value is what matters.

Why? Because heir properties typically have complications beyond just physical condition:

• Title issues that need clearing
• Multiple owners who need to be paid or partitioned
• Back taxes that need resolution
• Legal costs for quiet title or partition actions

When you factor in these costs, the ARV becomes almost irrelevant. What matters is what you can sell the property for today, in its current condition, with title cleared.

Current Market Reality: 70-80 Cents on the Dollar

At the 2026 DPA Summit, veteran investors noted a significant market shift:

"Properties now sell at 70-80 cents on the dollar compared to 95 cents during the hot market. There's no bad product, only bad pricing."

This means your as-is value calculations need adjustment from the 2021-2022 market. A property with a $200,000 CAD appraisal might realistically sell for $140,000-$160,000 as-is in today's market.

Use this formula for quick as-is value estimates:

Step	Calculation	Example
CAD Appraised Value	Starting point	$200,000
Market Adjustment	× 0.75 (current market)	$150,000
Condition Adjustment	- repairs needed	-$20,000
As-Is Value		$130,000

This is your realistic exit number. Work backwards from here to determine maximum acquisition cost.

Prime Targets: 4,000-6,000 Sq Ft Vacant Lots

Not all heir properties are created equal. Professional investors have identified a sweet spot that consistently delivers profits with manageable complexity:

Urban vacant lots between 4,000 and 6,000 square feet.

Why this specific target?

Lower Acquisition Costs

Vacant land typically sells for less than improved property. When you're buying fractional interests from multiple heirs at $500-$3,000 each, the total investment stays manageable.

No Tenant Complications

Properties with structures often have occupants—sometimes heirs, sometimes tenants, sometimes squatters. Vacant land eliminates eviction headaches entirely.

Simpler Valuation

Land value is straightforward: comparable lot sales, zoning potential, location. No need to estimate repair costs or deal with inspection surprises.

Strong Builder Demand

In urban areas, builders actively seek buildable lots. A cleared 5,000 sq ft lot in a desirable neighborhood has immediate buyer demand once title is cleared.

Case Study: San Antonio Vacant Lots

One investor built their entire business on this model:

"My standard deal was vacant lots in downtown San Antonio, typically 4,000-6,000 square feet. I'd acquire them for $5,000-$20,000 and sell them for $40,000-$60,000. These smaller deals often generated more profit than my friends' $200,000 house flips—with a fraction of the risk."

The key was using CAD data to identify lots with fractured ownership, then systematically acquiring interests from heirs who had no use for inherited land.

The CAD Research Workflow

Here's how professional investors use CAD data in their daily research:

Step 1: Start with Tax Delinquent Lists

Pull your target county's delinquent tax list. Filter for properties 2-4 years delinquent—this is where 60% of viable deals are found. Properties delinquent less than a year often resolve themselves; properties delinquent more than 5 years typically have compounding complications.

Step 2: Cross-Reference CAD Ownership

For each promising property on your filtered list, check CAD records for:

• Number of owners: 2+ owners = potential heir property
• Owner names: Multiple surnames = fractured inheritance
• Mailing addresses: Different from property address = absentee owners
• Ownership date: Old ownership + new delinquency = death signal

Step 3: Verify Property Characteristics

Use CAD data to confirm:

• Property type: Land, residential, commercial
• Size: Lot dimensions and building square footage
• Value: CAD appraised value (starting point for as-is calculation)
• Exemptions: Homestead exemption = owner-occupied (more complicated)

Step 4: Check Value-to-Debt Ratio

Compare the property's CAD value to total outstanding obligations:

• Tax debt
• Municipal liens (code violations, utility bills)
• HOA liens if applicable

A $200,000 property with $15,000 in obligations is very different from a $50,000 property with $15,000 in obligations. Focus on properties where equity clearly exceeds all debts.

Step 5: Analyze Ownership Patterns

Look for these CAD red flags that indicate acquisition opportunities:

Pattern	What It Suggests	Opportunity Level
4+ owners, all same surname	Sibling inheritance	High
Owners in multiple states	Disinterested heirs	High
30+ year ownership, recent delinquency	Likely deceased owner	High
Tax bill to different address than owners	Estate situation	Medium-High
Single owner, homestead exemption	Owner-occupied	Low

Texas CAD Resources by County

Here are the major Texas County Appraisal Districts and their online portals:

County	CAD	Website
Harris (Houston)	HCAD	hcad.org
Dallas	DCAD	dallascad.org
Tarrant (Fort Worth)	TAD	tad.org
Bexar (San Antonio)	BCAD	bcad.org
Travis (Austin)	TCAD	traviscad.org
Collin (Plano)	Collin CAD	collincad.org
Denton	DCAD	dentoncad.com
Fort Bend	FBCAD	fbcad.org
Hidalgo	Hidalgo CAD	hidalgoad.org
El Paso	EPCAD	epcad.org

Each CAD website offers free property searches. Most also provide bulk data downloads for serious researchers, though formats and update frequencies vary.

Beyond CAD: The Complete Research Stack

CAD data is essential but not sufficient. Professional investors combine it with:

Tax Assessor Data

Payment history, delinquency amounts, penalty calculations, and tax sale schedules. This shows the urgency of a situation—how long until foreclosure?

Land Records (County Clerk)

Recorded deeds, affidavits of heirship, judgments, and liens. This shows the legal situation—what's on title that needs clearing?

Court Dockets

Probate cases, partition actions, tax suits, divorces. This shows why a property is in distress and who the relevant parties are.

Skip Tracing Services

Contact information for owners and heirs. You can identify the opportunity in CAD data, but you need phone numbers and addresses to actually make contact.

Common CAD Research Mistakes

Avoid these errors that trip up new investors:

Mistake 1: Treating CAD Value as Market Value

CAD appraisals are for tax purposes, not sales. They may be above or below actual market value. Always verify with comparable sales data before making offers.

Mistake 2: Ignoring Exemptions

A homestead exemption means someone claims the property as their primary residence. These deals are more complicated—you may be dealing with a living, occupying owner rather than distant heirs.

Mistake 3: Missing Multiple Parcels

One physical property may have multiple CAD accounts. An heir situation on one parcel might connect to adjacent parcels. Always search surrounding properties.

Mistake 4: Not Checking Update Dates

CAD data updates on assessment cycles, not real-time. Ownership shown may be months old. Always verify current ownership through land records before making offers.

Mistake 5: Skipping the Math

It's easy to get excited about a multi-owner property and skip the value-to-debt analysis. A $100,000 property with 15 heirs and $30,000 in liens may not have enough equity to profit after paying everyone.

How LienSuite Streamlines CAD Research

The manual workflow—checking tax lists, cross-referencing CAD, pulling land records, searching dockets—takes hours per property. Professional investors look at hundreds of properties to find the handful worth pursuing.

LienSuite integrates these data sources into one platform:

• Tax delinquent data with filtering by years delinquent
• CAD ownership records showing all owners on title
• Property characteristics including values and lot sizes
• Multi-owner detection that automatically flags heir property candidates

Instead of spending 30 minutes researching each property across multiple county websites, you can scan dozens of properties in minutes and focus your detailed research on the ones that match your criteria.

Your Action Steps

Ready to start using CAD data in your research? Here's your roadmap:

This Week

1. Identify 2-3 target counties in your market
2. Bookmark each county's CAD website
3. Pull the tax delinquent list for each county
4. Filter for 2-4 years delinquent

Next Week

1. Research ownership on your top 20 properties in CAD
2. Flag all properties with 2+ owners
3. Calculate as-is value for flagged properties
4. Eliminate any where debt exceeds 50% of value

Week Three

1. Cross-reference remaining properties with court dockets
2. Look for probate cases, partition actions, tax suits
3. Begin skip tracing owners on your best candidates
4. Make first contact attempts

This systematic approach—starting with CAD data as your foundation—is exactly how professional investors identify opportunities that others miss.

The Bottom Line

CAD data is the foundation of profitable heir property research. It reveals multi-owner situations, provides baseline values, and helps you quickly filter thousands of delinquent properties down to the handful worth pursuing.

The investors who master CAD research gain an information advantage over competitors who rely on surface-level data. In a business where finding the right property matters more than anything else, that advantage translates directly to profits.

Start treating CAD data as your primary research tool, not an afterthought. The deals are hiding in plain sight for those who know how to read the data.

Ready to streamline your CAD research? Start your free LienSuite trial and access integrated tax delinquent and CAD ownership data across multiple Texas counties in one platform.