Property Owner Search
I’ve often found myself in situations where I wanted to discover the previous owner of a house, whether out of curiosity or during property-buying endeavors. In this post, I’ll share various methods and tools that make it easy and quick to find information about the previous owner of a house.
Method 1 Find previous owner from Assessor’s Website
Property and owner information are actually available on public websites (why?), one of which is the county property assessor website, providing the name of the owner and how much tax they pay.
Just Google your county name and property assessor, to check if there is a website for you to perform the search. If not, you may need to go to your county’s assessor’s office to consult with the clerk.
For example, I search for “Maricopa property assessor” on Google and found Maricopa County Assessor website. Then I just type the address in the search box and click Search.
In this way, I have succesfully known the basic information about the current and previous owners of the house.
Method 2 Check property tax records
Access the county’s official website to retrieve the tax records and the owner’s information for a specific house. Here’s the procedure:
- Google property tax bills plus the county name (e.g. property tax bills Nevada County) and find the entrance of the local government.
- Choose to Search by street address, enter the address, and click Search.
- Click VIEW TAX BILL.
- Expect to find the owner’s name on the top of the PDF file.
Method 3 Use a professional address lookup tool
If you don’t want to waste your time and energy on countless websites and platforms, or you prefer to gain up-to-date and more accurate information about a house owner, give reverse address lookup tools a shot.
Option 1 Search previous owner with BeenVerified
Being specialized in searching, BeenVerified has one of the best reverse address lookup tools that can uncover much property information. You can potentially search for the current and previous owners, home value, mortgage and loan information, and useful details about the neighborhood. With just an address, its report can return more than you expect:
Here is how to do it:
- Browse BeenVerified address lookup website.
- Enter the address and choose it from the drop-down list. Click SEARCH.
- Its cutting-edge technology will run the search and generate a report after minutes. You need to purchase a subscription account to unlock the report ($29.99 for a month and $19.49/mo for 3 months).
Option 2 Hunt for previous owner with Social Catfish
Reverse address lookup is one of the services provided by Social Catfish, an industry-leading platform. This address search is designed to help people uncover public information like deed information, ownership, property specs, etc. People also utilize it to gain property summaries, find owner contact info, and check safety issues. Here’s how:
- Go to Social Catfish’s reverse address lookup page. Type the address and hit Search.
- The algorithm will take a few minutes to scan its enormous database. After that, you can pay and check the possible owner’s contact and family information in the generated report.
Method 4 Search on the web or social media
In this Internet-connected world, you can always expect to search for whatever information you want online.
Collecting data from billions of web pages, web search engines like Google and Bing may reveal some useful info when you type a certain address. Though it may not be specific enough to uncover the owner’s name, you can find out some relevant news to narrow down your search.
Social media is another trick worth a try. Some users may detail their address on social networks, which gives you a way to look for the property owner’s social account and even the contact info. So, just simply try to search for the address on popular platforms (eg. Facebook, Twitter). It won’t be a great loss.
FAQs
Why property and owner information is public online? |
---|
In many jurisdictions, property and ownership records are considered public records, and their availability online is governed by public records laws. These laws are designed to ensure transparency and accountability in government activities. Also, like California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), many laws protect individual’s right on the use of these records. |
Are there privacy concerns when looking up property owners? |
---|
Yes, there can be privacy concerns and it’s important to approach them responsibly since they may contain sensitive details about individuals. Some jurisdictions have regulations in place to balance public access with privacy protection. Therefore, be careful not to use this information for unlawful purpose and consider the legality and ethics of sharing or using the information you obtain. |
Can I access property records for commercial properties? |
---|
Yes, commercial properties records are also accessible to the public. The obtaining process is often similar to that for residential properties, but the level of detail may be vary. |
Is there a difference between county records and online databases for property owner lookup? |
---|
Yes. County records are typically maintained by local government offices, such as the county assessor’s office, while online databases are third-party platforms that collect information from various sources, including county records. The later generally offer user-friendly interfaces, advanced search options, and additional features, but the accuracy and completeness can differ. |
To draw a conclusion, you can find the previous owner of a house by searching online or browsing public websites, but it may be time-consuming and exhausting. Or you can opt for reserve address lookup tools like BeenVerified and Social Catfish, which are convenient and easy to use.