How to Find Property Owners
Contact the county tax assessor., Call 411 directory assistance., Consult other public records such as property deeds., Use an online property search tool.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Contact the county tax assessor.
If there's a piece of property, someone is paying tax on it – or not.
If the owner is delinquent on their taxes, the state and county will be looking for them too.
If property taxes aren't current, the county may foreclose on the property and sell it at public auction.If you go to the website of the tax assessor in the county where the property is located, you may be able to search records online.
In more rural counties, you may have to go to the tax assessor's office or your local public library and search paper records.In most cases, if you know the street address of the property, you can search the county database that way.
You'll get the most precise results if you've determined the plat number or the lot and block of the property.The tax records will include the name and contact information of the property owner.
Tax records also may include detail about the most recent appraisal of the property, including its dimensions, number of rooms, type of heating or air conditioning, and other property features.If the property has a tax lien or deficiency, the owners may be more willing to sell the property just to get rid of the debt. -
Step 2: Call 411 directory assistance.
If you have the owner's name and the address of the property, you may be able to get a telephone number. , Since property deeds must be recorded, you can take a trip to the county recorder's office and pull up the deed to the property.The recorder of deeds is responsible for maintaining public records of all land ownership and transfers.In most counties, the recorder's office is located in the county courthouse.Some recorder's offices may even have these records online for you to search, especially if the property is in a major metropolitan area.The deed records the transfer of property, so you not only find the current owner of record, but also who they purchased the property from and if there are any liens on the property.Deeds also will be easier to search if you've determined the plat or lot number of the property, since the plat number is the only information required for the legal description of the property on the deed., Websites such as propertyshark.com search all public records to provide you a single report with detailed property information including tax and sales history.You may have to pay a fee to use some of these search tools, or to access a full report with your complete search results. -
Step 3: Consult other public records such as property deeds.
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Step 4: Use an online property search tool.
Detailed Guide
If there's a piece of property, someone is paying tax on it – or not.
If the owner is delinquent on their taxes, the state and county will be looking for them too.
If property taxes aren't current, the county may foreclose on the property and sell it at public auction.If you go to the website of the tax assessor in the county where the property is located, you may be able to search records online.
In more rural counties, you may have to go to the tax assessor's office or your local public library and search paper records.In most cases, if you know the street address of the property, you can search the county database that way.
You'll get the most precise results if you've determined the plat number or the lot and block of the property.The tax records will include the name and contact information of the property owner.
Tax records also may include detail about the most recent appraisal of the property, including its dimensions, number of rooms, type of heating or air conditioning, and other property features.If the property has a tax lien or deficiency, the owners may be more willing to sell the property just to get rid of the debt.
If you have the owner's name and the address of the property, you may be able to get a telephone number. , Since property deeds must be recorded, you can take a trip to the county recorder's office and pull up the deed to the property.The recorder of deeds is responsible for maintaining public records of all land ownership and transfers.In most counties, the recorder's office is located in the county courthouse.Some recorder's offices may even have these records online for you to search, especially if the property is in a major metropolitan area.The deed records the transfer of property, so you not only find the current owner of record, but also who they purchased the property from and if there are any liens on the property.Deeds also will be easier to search if you've determined the plat or lot number of the property, since the plat number is the only information required for the legal description of the property on the deed., Websites such as propertyshark.com search all public records to provide you a single report with detailed property information including tax and sales history.You may have to pay a fee to use some of these search tools, or to access a full report with your complete search results.
About the Author
Karen Simmons
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow home improvement tutorials.
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