You don't have to hire a private investigator to find out the current owner of a piece of land property. This type of property information is readily available---you just have to know where to look. Checking property tax records or performing a deed search are good places to start. The good news is retrieving a current record of a property tax assessment or performing a deed search can generally be done online at no cost. You don't necessarily have to check both property tax and deed records to find the owner of a property. You can choose one.
- Skill level:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
Things you need
- Internet access
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1
Go to the tax assessment website for the town where the mystery property is located. You can use NETRoline Public Records for help with locating the assessor website for your town. Select the state where the property is located. Then select the appropriate township. If the tax assessment office for the town you've selected has an online property search database, a link will be provided next to the information listed for "Assessor." Follow the link.
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2
Enter the street number of the mystery property, and the street name of the mystery property in the appropriate fields provided on the tax assessment property search page.
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3
Click search. Among the listed information about the property will be the name of the current owner as of the most recent tax billing.
Finding Out Who Owns a Property Using Property Tax Records
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1
Go to the Registry of Deeds website for the state and county where your mystery property is located.
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2
Perform a property search. Enter the street number and street address of the mystery property in the appropriate fields.
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3
Select the most recent deed on file. The deed will list the current owner of the property in addition to who the home was purchased from.
Finding Out Who Owns a Property through a Deed Search
Tips and warnings
- If the mystery property is located in a town or county that has not set up an online database for users to search property tax records or deeds, you'll have to physically go to the town or county's records office to retrieve the information. While not all areas have searchable online databases set up for deeds and property tax records, you should at least be able to find the phone numbers and addresses for these record offices online. For example, perform a keyword search for: "Registry of Deeds" +TheNameOfTheTown +TheNameOfTheState.
