Wholesaling Absentee Owner Properties in Mississippi

The short answer

Can you wholesale a house whose owner does not live in Jackson?

Yes. You can sign a purchase contract with a distant owner and assign it to a buyer, if you are honest about your role and never act as a broker for property you have no interest in. No Mississippi wholesaler statute was found, but the broker law can still apply. Check with a Mississippi attorney or the MREC.

An absentee owner is simply a person whose mailing address differs from the property address. The county tax roll shows it, and so do most owner searches.

Your contract should say you are buying with the right to assign. Mississippi’s broker definition in Miss. Code 73-35-3 covers advertising or negotiating real estate for pay, so selling the house yourself as owner under a signed contract is safer than advertising something you do not hold. Read our assignment guide and have an attorney review your form.

The opportunity

Why Jackson owners who live away sell at a discount

Hinds County has a large stock of older houses, and Jackson’s median price sits well below the national figure, so small discounts still produce real fees. Intown streets near Belhaven and Fondren draw steady buyers, while parts of West and South Jackson hold many aging rentals owned from afar.

Lead sources

Where to find absentee owners in Hinds County

• Tax roll mismatches. Compare the situs address with the owner mailing address and list every house where they differ.
• Vacant and boarded houses. Drive West and South Jackson and write down address after address. Our driving guide shows the method.
• Skip tracing. Run each owner through a skip trace to find a current mailing address and phone.
• Code enforcement lists. City notices about overgrown lots or unsafe structures flag owners who stopped paying attention. See code violation leads.
• Delinquent taxes. Unpaid taxes often point to an owner who has disengaged. Our tax list guide explains the sources.

Your exit

Who buys absentee owner houses in Jackson

Local rehabbers and landlords buy most of these houses, because a faraway owner rarely maintained the place and the repairs are real. Show buyers photos, a repair list and your numbers from the ARV calculator.

Close with an attorney or investor-friendly title company so the deed work is clean, and keep your assignment fee in writing.

Step by step

How to start wholesaling absentee owner properties in Mississippi

1. Build the list. Pull Hinds County parcels where the mailing address differs from the house address.
2. Verify the owner. Confirm ownership through the chancery clerk records and a basic title search.
3. Send a plain letter. Name the street, say you buy as-is for cash, and give a phone number and a mailing address.
4. Follow the call rules. Check the state no-call database and calling hours before any phone or text outreach.
5. Estimate value. Use the MAO calculator with comps from the comps guide.
6. Sign by mail or electronically. Use an offer with assignment language and a fair inspection period.
7. Assign and close. Find a buyer, sign the assignment in writing, and close through a title company or attorney.

This worked example uses illustrative numbers. A retired couple owned a vacant brick house in South Jackson and had lived in another city for years. A letter reached them, and they called back within a week.

The two of you agreed on $52,000 as-is. Comps put the repaired value near $135,000, and a local rehabber priced $30,000 of work. At a 70% rule, that rehabber could pay up to $64,500, so the deal had room.

You assigned the contract for $9,500, the buyer paid $61,500, and the couple signed by mail through a title company.

Mississippi rules to know

Broker law and phone rules for absentee outreach

The question for any wholesaler in Mississippi is whether you are acting as a principal or as a broker. Section 73-35-3 defines a broker widely, including anyone who advertises or helps procure a buyer for pay, and 73-35-5(7) exempts a bona fide owner selling property they own. Whether a contract holder counts as an owner was not settled in anything we read. Penalties in 73-35-31 can include fines, jail time and repayment of compensation, so check current text.

Absentee outreach often means calling numbers from a skip trace. The Mississippi Telephone Solicitation Act, enforced by the Public Service Commission, sets a state no-call database, solicitor registration and calling windows from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central, with civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation. A 2026 bill that would have regulated wholesalers did not pass.

Learn it with a mentor

Learn to talk with owners who live far away

Letters, calls and follow-up decide whether an absentee lead becomes a contract. Our mentors review your scripts and your numbers before you commit, so you hear what works in Hinds County first.

FAQ

Absentee Owner Properties in Mississippi: common questions

Keep going

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