Learning who a property belongs to isn’t hard these days. Many online and offline resources can help you in this case, most of which are completely legal and even free. But why does one need to conduct a property ownership search in the first place? Well, there are many reasons.
Imagine you just moved to a new neighborhood and are now wondering who lives next to you. Or you’re house hunting and see a beautiful home that you want to purchase. In these cases, you would need to find the property owner for obvious reasons.
According to the most recent statistics, the homeownership rate in the US is 66%, which means that a significant portion of the population relies on accurate property records for ownership verification.
But how do you legally find out who owns a property in the United States? In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of the methods.
How to Determine Who Owns a Property in the US?
1. Reverse Search the Address on Nuwber
Reverse searching the address on Nuwber, a people search website, is one of the most effective ways to learn who a place belongs to. It has 118 million addresses in its database, which makes the process of looking for a property owner easy and fast.
The platform also provides property information, such as home type, the year it was built, and property value, among other things. It also shows previous residents and information about the neighborhood, including sex offenders in the area.
To reverse search an address, it has to be in this specific order: house number, street name, city, state, and zip code.
2. Just Google
You’ve probably thought of this method already, but if you haven’t, know that Google is an efficient data retriever. All you need to do to learn who owns a property using this search engine is to type in the address in Google’s search bar.
After this, look for results from local government websites, property listings, or online directories. The information may turn up on forms or other resources, too.
Google indexes billions of pages every day, from pages on government websites to social media posts, which makes it easy to find the necessary information.
3. Check the County Assessor’s Office
In simple words, a county assessor is responsible for determining the value of properties within a county for tax purposes. Since the public serves a key role in the property tax system, these records are accessible to the citizens.
To learn who a property is registered under, go to the official assessor’s or property appraiser’s website. In this case, you can search the property by address, owner name, or parcel number.
If, for some reason, you can’t find the information online, you can visit the county assessor’s office in person to request access to property records.
4. Reach Out to the County Clerk
A county clerk is in charge of managing and maintaining official records such as marriage licenses, birth and death certificates, property deeds, and other important records.
By requesting the property ownership details at the county clerk’s office, you can find information about current and previous property owners.
This information can be available online. If it’s not, writing a request in person can give you the necessary data.
5. Search on Real Estate Websites
When someone wants to sell their property, they normally list the required details about it on real estate websites like Property.com and Zillow. So, if you think that the house in question is for sale, you can check these websites to find out the property owners.
Though this isn’t always guaranteed, some sites do provide ownership details, which makes the whole process easier not only for home buyers but also for those looking for information about the property owners.
6. Access Historical Records and Archives
In some cases, a property’s owners may be listed in historical records, archives, and other resources that are available both online and offline. Check local historical listings at the local library or search online.
It’s important to know that not all properties may necessarily be listed in archives or similar documents if they don’t have heritage status or haven’t been involved in historical transactions, but it’s still worth a try.
Looking through old newspapers can also hit the mark, especially if the property was listed for sale.
7. Network With Local Real Estate Agents
Networking can get you far in life, especially when it comes to searching for information. To know who owns a property, it would be wise to reach out to local real estate agents. It’s especially effective to do this if the house is on sale, but it can also be beneficial for any other reason.
Realtors have access to certain databases that make it possible to find out who resides at the property in question, making it possible to retrieve details quickly.
You can either reach out to them online or visit their office. Just know that they can refuse to provide information without any specific reason if they wish to.
Let’s Conclude
Thanks to public records and the accessibility of data, it’s become much easier to find information than ever before. This also concerns property and its owners. No matter what state you live in, whether it’s California or Indiana, the process of looking for a house’s owners isn’t a tough nut to crack anymore.
Reversely searching the address, googling, and reaching out to the county assessor or county clerk are some of the most effective ways to learn who lives at a specific house.
Searching on real estate sites, accessing historical records and archives, and networking with local realtors are not less effective tips that you can leverage.
Note, however, that just because you found the data through public records, it’s important not to be overly intrusive. Always respect other people’s desire for privacy.