Find out the owner’s name if you want to find the person who owns a run-down house that needs to be cleaned or if you want to make an offer on your dream house that hasn’t been sold yet. It can be as easy as going to someone’s door and knocking and getting a certified copy of public taxes at the door, or the county examiner’s office can take a long time. If you are a private investigator and you can’t find the owner, you can always pay a professional to look at all the records to find the property owners.
Talk to the Tax Collector in your County
Someone may or may not owe taxes if there is property. The state or county will also try to find the owner if the taxes aren’t paid. If there are no taxes on the property, the county can shut it down and put it up for sale. You might be able to search the records online if you go to the website for the tax assessor in the county where the property is. In more rural counties, you might have to go to the tax assessor’s office or the public library to find paper records.
- Most of the time, you can search the county database this way if you know the property’s address.
- You will get exceptionally accurate results if you know the property’s parcel number, lot number, and block.
- The name and contact information of the owner will be in the tax records.
- Tax records may also have up-to-date information about the property’s worth, such as its size, number of rooms, type of heating and cooling, and other features.
- If the owner gets property tax refunds or exemptions, they may be more likely to sell the property to pay off the debt.
Look at Other Public Documents, like Property Deeds.
Deeds to real estate must record so you can get them from the county recorder’s office. The job of the Recorder of Deeds is to keep public records of all land titles and transfers. In most counties, the recorder’s office is in the county’s building.
- Some recorder’s offices, especially if the property is in a city, may let you search these records online.
- Death records show who owned something at a particular time, so you are not just looking for the current owner.
- But you should also find out who you bought the property from and if you have a deed to the property.
- You can also find the deed faster if you know the property’s parcel number or lot number.
- This is because the deed only needs the parcel number to be able to describe the property legally.
Use Online Tools to Find a Place to Live
Sites like PropertyShark.com look through all the public records and make reports with a lot of information about the property, like how much taxes it pays and how many times it has been sold. Some of these search tools may cost money or get a full report with all search results.
Ask People who Live Nearby if they know who owns the Property.
Neighbors may be willing to tell you important things about other property owners that would be hard to find out any other way. If people in the area know the property owners, they may see if they are easy to talk to.
Ring the Doorbell
Find out how the land around the house is, especially if you want to buy that house. So, if the whole neighborhood looks run-down and empty, you might not want to look there. If you walk too far, your neighbors will start to think something is wrong. If you talk to someone or someone comes up to you and asks what you’re doing? Explain what you’re up to. Especially if you want to buy a house, you want to ensure you haven’t done anything wrong with people who could become your neighbors.
Find out Where the House Is?
You might need to ask your neighbors, especially if several houses in a row don’t have street addresses. You will need this address to find the property owners name in public records.
Send a Postcard to the Address of the Property
This is an excellent way to introduce yourself and let people know what you want. Send them by mail instead of leaving them in a box or on the property. If the property owners has moved, they most likely will send the mail to a different address. This is unlikely to work if the house is empty, but it is worth a shot. Write your name, phone number, and the reason for calling you on the postcard.
Find the Property’s Parcel or Lot and Block Number
This survey system is often used to determine where property lines are in suburbs and cities with lots of people. Consult a real estate agent. If you see a sign for a specific real estate agent in a neighbor’s yard, give that agent a call and ask about the property. Agents who sell homes and other properties in the area are likely to know the area well.
- In addition to knowing about the area, this means learning about the general population and how real estate prices tend to change.
- Agents have connections to title search firms and other professional resources.
- With a realtor’s professional connections, you may be able to find information about homeownership faster than you could on your own.
Talk to an insurance company.
After a property’s title has transfer, title companies often do title liquidation surveys and record deeds. So, this makes it easy to get accurate and up-to-date information about the property. If you want to buy real estate, you must contact a title search company. You will need a complete and accurate history of who owned the property and how much it was worth.
Where to Find a Skip Tracer
So, skip tracers are professionals who, like bounty hunters, look for “runaways” who can’t be found in other ways. Skip tracers know about and can use many databases that most people don’t know about. So, skip tracers may talk to neighbors, relatives, and others to keep an eye on the property and find the property owners, if necessary. Moreover bounty hunters, bail bond agents, and private investigators often work with independent skip tracers.
Wrap up
The title search fee is usually included in the total cost of buying a home when it is closed. So, depending on the company you are talking to, finding a title that is not part of a home sale or purchase may cost more.
Author Bio
Lily Poole is a Property and Home Insurance Officer by profession. He has extensive experience in the field of best renters insurance nyc and accounting and has an impressive profile in the training and development industry.
