How to Buy International Unclaimed Property

Purchasing unclaimed property can be a profitable investment.

International unclaimed property is anything of value abandoned by the owner. Governments consider property to be unclaimed after a period of one-to-five years without any documented contact with the owner. This can happen if the owner dies or if the owner changes address, thereby losing contact with the entity owning the property. There are more than 100 types of property that can go unclaimed, including stocks, wages, insurance money, bank accounts and real estate. You can buy unclaimed property all over the world.

Instructions

1. Search for unclaimed property on the Internet. There are websites in the resource section that offer free searches. These websites are updated constantly with new unclaimed properties available to purchase. They offer international links to search for properties around the world. The National Unclaimed Property Association is another great free resource to find property.

2. Find the country where the property's account resides. You can find the country by looking at the last transaction made by the account, and this document will also tell you the exact address of the owner.

   To buy unclaimed property in the United States, you should go to the state's Unclaimed Property Office. Consult the resources section for a directory with complete contact information for every state.

3. Get the name of the person who owns the property. Document the last date of communication made by the owner. Some countries allow you to claim a property if the owner has failed to communicate with the appropriate entity for one year. Every country allows different amounts of time for communication with the owner; you will have to look at the website of the Treasury Department for the country in which you are buying unclaimed property.

4. Try your best to contact the owner of the property. You are expected to do your "due diligence" in you efforts to locate the owners. This means that you made a legitimate effort to contact the owner. You must be able to prove that you attempted contact the owner, giving the owner a chance to reclaim property.

5. Register the unclaimed property. Get the paperwork from the local government website or have them send you the paperwork by asking them on the phone. Send in the paperwork once the dormancy period has passed. Governments will not allow you to register a property unless you make the required payment at the same time.

Tips & Warnings

• Research the specific laws pertaining to unclaimed property in the country of the owner. Do not expect all the same laws in your country to apply in international property claims.

• Some companies will charge you for them to search the databases on your behalf. These services do the legwork for you, but remember that all these databases are free to search for yourself.

References

• North Carolina Department of State Treasurer: Unclaimed Property
• NAUPA

Resources

• Unclaimed Property: State Contact Info
• Missing Money Website