By the time it's on a foreclosure list, everyone has it.
We flag the distress 6–18 months earlier.
Every lead on Distressed Signals carries at least one verified distress signal: an active Buffalo code violation or an Erie County tax foreclosure filing, pulled from city and county records as they post. We fuse each signal with ownership data, score every property by urgency, and give you the property address and the owner's mailing address. The out-of-state LLC with 22 open violations and a tax lien floats to the top. You reach that owner first.
Built for everyone who needs to reach an owner first
One living database, six different plays. Here's how operators put Distressed Signals to work.
Find owners carrying code violations and tax delinquency months before they hit the MLS, and make your offer while the competition is still waiting for a listing. National tools show what is already for sale — Distressed Signals shows who is about to sell.
Tax delinquency and code violations surface months — often a year or more — before a property reaches the foreclosure docket. By the time it is public, the whole market is calling the same owner. We put you in front of them while there is still a conversation to have.
Built for those ready to close deals.
Severity-weighted, time-decayed signal points plus itemized owner bonuses. Every score sums in front of you.
Full history per parcel: dates, sections, status, and the inspector's own wording on violations. Know the story before you reach out.
Top-scored parcels plotted across Erie County. Distress clusters jump out in seconds. Plan a route, not a wander.
Property class, owner location (out-of-state / out-of-area / local investor), minimum score, newest activity.
Every property behind one mailing address, ranked by distressed inventory. One conversation, multiple deals. (Premium)
Chronic distress stays visible until it clears or the parcel sells. Persistence means pressure. We surface it, not hide it.
From public filing to ranked lead. Automatically.
FOUR STEPS · ZERO MANUAL WORK
We monitor City of Buffalo code enforcement, housing court and demolition orders plus the Erie County tax-foreclosure docket, with 72,000+ violation, housing court, tax-delinquency and demolition recordstracked and counting. Every violation the city posts, from unsafe structures to heating failures, plus every In Rem filing county-wide.
Each signal joins the county assessment roll at the parcel level, matched against all 375,523 Erie County parcels across 27 municipalities: who owns it, where they actually live, LLC status, tenure. This join is the signal national tools don't have.
Signal severity, recency decay, and owner-profile pressure compound into a single urgency score, recalculated across every one of the 12,000+ actively distressed parcels. A fresh structural violation on an absentee LLC outranks a tall-grass citation from six weeks ago, every time.
What's left is a ranked shortlist, the 12,000+ parcelscarrying active distress, sorted by urgency. Filter by property class, owner location, and score; see the full signal history in the inspector's own words, the address, owner name and mailing, plus the owner's entire portfolio.
Every lead. One number. And we show the math.
No black boxes. Open any parcel and see exactly why it scored what it scored: signal load, severity, and each owner-profile factor, itemized. When you knock on the door, you already know the story.
A 70+ means serious active distress on an owner with every reason to sell. Below 40 is background noise. We still show it, but your time belongs at the top. And when violations and tax delinquency stack on the same parcel, the score jumps. Those owners hear from our members first.
See today's top scores, freeThe national tools can't see this. That's the point.
PropStream, DealMachine, and the rest work county-level lien data resold to thousands of investors at once. City code enforcement, the earliest, loudest distress signal in Buffalo, isn't in their pipeline, because wiring up one city's data doesn't scale to 3,000 counties.
Distressed Signals: we do exactly one market, all the way down. City violations and county tax filings fused with ownership at the parcel level, a lead source your competition's subscription literally does not contain.
The city's violation data is public. So is the assessment roll, and so is the county's In Rem foreclosure list. But they don't reference each other, the violation feed is a hose of 48,000 records, the In Rem list is a 519-page PDF, and nothing tells you which of 375,523 parcels matter this week.
Distressed Signals: the join, the severity classification, the decay math, and the owner intelligence are already done, updated as the sources post, ranked and filterable in one screen.
See the leads. Decide before you spend a dollar.
A free account browses the entire scored list, every parcel's score, signal count, severity, last event, class, ZIP, and owner profile. No credit card, no time limit. Addresses and owner contact details unlock when you're ready.
| Score | Signals | Last Event | Property Address | ZIP | Property Class | Owner Profile | Owner | Owner Mailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74 | 19 High | 2025-05-16 | 🔒 upgrade to unlock | 14215 | House (1-2 Family) | Out of State LLC | 🔒 | 🔒 |
| 74 | 22 High | 2026-04-23 | 🔒 upgrade to unlock | 14211 | House (1-2 Family) | Out of State LLC | 🔒 | 🔒 |
| 74 | 41 High | 2026-01-30 | 🔒 upgrade to unlock | 14214 | Apartment | Local Investor LLC | 🔒 | 🔒 |
| 74 | 10 High | 2025-12-16 | 🔒 upgrade to unlock | 14201 | House (1-2 Family) | Out of State LLC | 🔒 | 🔒 |
| 73 | 13 Medium | 2026-06-01 | 🔒 upgrade to unlock | 14208 | House (1-2 Family) | Out of State | 🔒 | 🔒 |
What a membership actually looks like
The free list shows you the signal. Members get the whole picture: the score math, the full violation history, the tax and demolition detail, and every property an owner holds.
12 Thornton St
Every property behind one mailing address, ranked by distressed inventory. One conversation, multiple deals.
| Owner | Mailing Address | Properties | Distressed | Top Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XYZ Holdings LLC Out of State | 1420 Sunview Dr, Scottsdale, AZ | 14 | 9 | 84 |
| Lake Rentals Inc LLC Out of State | 88 Harbor Rd, Naples, FL | 11 | 7 | 71 |
| FIVE PROPERTY GROUP LLC Local Investor | 219 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY | 8 | 5 | 70 |
| A&Y Homes Local Investor | 640 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY | 6 | 3 | 66 |
Every scored parcel plotted across Buffalo and the Erie County suburbs. Distress clusters jump out in seconds, so you can plan a route instead of a wander.
Every Buffalo distress signal, fused and ranked. Only here.
How Distressed Signals stacks up against the tools investors use today.
| Distressed Signals$99/mo | National platforms$99-699/mo | Permit & violation lists$149/mo | Foreclosure services$49-79/mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo code violations, scored | ✓33,000 active, scored | ✕Can't carry them | ✓Raw, unranked | ✕ |
| Tax, court, demolition and rental signals, fused | ✓All five | ✕ | ✕Permits only | ✕ |
| Distress score with itemized breakdown | ✓ | ✕Filters only | ~Basic scoring | ✕ |
| Tax-lien dollars owed and years behind | ✓ | ~Lien flag only | ✕ | ~Auction date |
| Owner name and mailing address | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~Defendant only |
| Flags distress before the foreclosure list | ✓6 to 18 months earlier | ✕ | ~Unranked | ✕That is the list |
| Every violation's inspector notes | ✓ | ✕ | ~Limited | ✕ |
| Free plan, no credit card | ✓ | ✕Trial only | ~14-day trial | ~Limited |
Category comparison based on published pricing and features as of August 2026: national property platforms (e.g. PropStream), permit and violation lists (e.g. PermitGrab), and foreclosure list services (e.g. ILFLS).
One good lead pays for years.
Free shows you the signal. Membership shows you the door to knock on.
Free
- The full scored list, every distressed parcel in Erie County, ranked
- Two live signal feeds: Buffalo code violations and Erie County tax-delinquency (In Rem) filings
- Score, severity, signal count, property class, and owner-profile flags
- Filter and sort the entire inventory; ZIP-level location
- Updated continuously as the city and county post
Core
- Everything in Free
- Full property addresses of every scored parcel
- Owner names and mailing addresses
- The score breakdown, the exact math behind every parcel's score
- Full violation history: dates, code sections, status, and the inspector's own wording
- Interactive parcel map + Google Street View links
- Founding price locked for life while subscribed
Premium
- Everything in Core
- New leads 48 hours before every Core member
- Email alerts when a new lead scores 60+, within a day of the City posting it
- Owner portfolio view: every property behind one mailing address, ranked
- Founding price locked for life while subscribed
Every tier sees every scored lead. The free list hides nothing about which parcels are distressed. Membership unlocks what you need to act: addresses, owner names, violation detail, and the map. Premium's edge over Core is timing, new leads 48 hours sooner.
Core and Premium are monthly subscriptions billed at the listed price and renew automatically until you cancel. Cancel anytime, and your access continues through the end of the current billing period. See our Terms for details.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the data come from?
Three public primary sources: City of Buffalo code enforcement records, the Erie County In Rem tax foreclosure docket, and the Erie County assessment roll. We ingest directly from the source, with no resellers and no repackaged lists, and fuse them at the parcel level.
Why does a code violation mean the owner might sell?
An open violation usually means fines that compound every month plus repair bills the owner may not be able to fund. Owners in that spot often sell below market to get out from under it. That pressure shows up 6 to 18 months before a property ever reaches a foreclosure list, which is the window Distressed Signals is built to find.
How is this different from a foreclosure list or a national platform?
By the time a property is on a foreclosure or auction list, every investor in the market already has it. We flag the distress earlier, at the violation, the tax filing, the housing-court case, using signals the national platforms structurally cannot carry for Buffalo. And we rank it, so you see not just that a property is distressed but how distressed and how recently.
Do I get the owner's name and how to reach them?
On any paid plan you get the owner's name and the mailing address on the tax roll, which is what you need to send an offer or knock on the door. We do not sell phone numbers or skip-traced contacts. You get the verified public record: who owns it, where they get their mail, and how distressed the property is.
How fresh is it?
New violations reach you within 24 hours of the City publishing them, which is typically 10 to 14 days after the inspection. Buffalo posts in batches, so leads arrive in waves rather than a steady trickle. Scoring also weights recency: a recent violation outweighs an old one, so the ranking always reflects current pressure. We tell you exactly how fresh the data is, which is more than the national platforms do.
Why only Western New York?
Because depth beats breadth. National platforms cover 3,000 counties an inch deep and can't justify wiring up any one city's code enforcement. We cover one market completely, from Buffalo's violation feed to the county's foreclosure docket, which is exactly why our leads aren't in their databases. See our Buffalo distressed property data page for live counts.
Do suburban parcels have code violations too?
No suburb in Erie County publishes its code enforcement data, so suburban leads are scored from county tax foreclosure filings, the strongest public distress signal available there. Buffalo parcels carry both, and when violations and tax delinquency stack on one parcel, the score jumps.
What exactly does the free tier include?
The entire scored inventory: every parcel's score, signal count, worst severity, property class, owner profile, and ZIP. Addresses, owner names, mailing addresses, signal detail, and the map unlock with a membership. No time limit, no credit card.
Is there a free trial?
There is a free plan, not a trial, so there is no clock running against you. Start on the free tier, see every property's distress score, signal count, worst severity, and owner profile with no credit card, and upgrade only when the leads are clearly paying for themselves. A membership is what unlocks the addresses, owner names and mailing addresses, the full signal detail, and the map.
How is the score calculated?
Each active signal earns points by type and severity, decaying as it ages. The parcel's signal total is compressed so chronic buildings don't drown out sharp new distress, then owner-profile bonuses (absentee, out-of-state, LLC, long ownership) are added. Every lead shows its own itemized breakdown.
What signals go into a score besides code violations?
Buffalo code violations, Erie County tax-foreclosure filings, housing-court cases, demolition permits, and lapsed rental licenses, combined with owner-risk factors like absentee, out-of-state, and LLC ownership. A property that stacks several of these rises to the top.
What does the Premium 48-hour head start mean?
When a parcel newly enters the scored list, Premium members see it immediately. Core and Free accounts see the same lead 48 hours later. Nobody is ever denied a lead. Premium members are simply first in line, and in a single-market race for motivated sellers, the first conversation usually wins the deal.
Do Premium email alerts cover every new lead?
No. Email alerts flag new leads scoring 60 or higher, the high-priority ones worth acting on fast, so your inbox stays high signal instead of buried in minor filings. Your hot list in the app always shows every scored parcel, including lower-scoring standalone signals like a single tax delinquency, so nothing is ever hidden. The email alert is a heads-up on the hottest new leads, not the full list.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. No contracts, no cancellation fees. Your founding-member rate is locked for as long as you stay subscribed.
Your next deal already has a case number.
12,000+ scored leads across Erie County are live right now. The question is whether you see them before the investor across town does.