It’s relatively easy to find the sales history of homes: Just consult the title company responsible or (more conveniently) ask a real estate agent. But what other public information is available about houses and other real estate properties? And just as importantly, what information is private or (possibly) even illegal for a real estate agent to reveal to you?
Much of the public information about homes is consistent from state to state. So is much of the information that cannot be shared with buyers (largely because of equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws). And some information falls into a grey are, all across the country!
What follows is a quick discussion of the publicly available info (aside from the actual sales history of homes) about real estate properties and where you can find this information.
And How Can I Find Out of a Home Has a Lien On It?
It’s important to know if the home you’re considering has one or more liens on it. The subject of property liens is a little outside of this article–although we have that covered elsewhere on the site–but for right now, it’s important to know that an outstanding lien on a property will keep you from getting a loan to buy that property! This is something the seller will need to take care of.
Liens are put on a home for various reasons. These reasons are usually tax-related, or related to other financial concerns. A property tax lien, or a judgment lien (when creditors sue the homeowner) are typically handled via a county judge. So you should be able to find that kind of lien info via the county tax assessor’s office.
If the lien was put there by the IRS, you may need to check with the IRS–although this information should be available locally as well,. Finally, the property’s title company should have a record of all liens currently on the house. But unless you have the home under contract, they may not give you that information without the homeowner’s permission.
One way or another, however, it’s important for you to know the lien status of a home. Your real estate agent can usually find this out for you if you have the home under contract. But if you don’t have a real estate agent, it’s absolutely vital that you find out the lien history in some way. If you end up buying the home before the lien is resolved, you will be responsible for paying it off; if you don’t, the house may be foreclosed on!
Can I Find Out if Any Crimes Occurred at the Property I’m Looking At?
The answer to this question is, “It depends.”  You can’t normally find out the crime history of a home unless you’re willing to search through a lot of court records! But there are exceptions to this rule–as well as quicker ways to find out a home’s legal history.
The biggest exception to this rule occurs when someone manufactured drugs–usually amphetamine or methamphetamine–on the property. The chemicals used in these manufacturing processes can often stay in the carpet or other areas of the home, and then cause health hazards. The only benefit of this situation is that the seller is legally required to let you know about it before you put the house under contract.
If you know the name of the current owner or anyone who has lived on the property, there are many available online services that will deliver pubic records (including court records) about that person.
You may also want to perform a simple Google or Bing search for the property’s address. Such a search can reveal news items or even informal communications (blog posts, etc.) about the home. Finally, if your city or county court or police station has searchable records online, you can easily visit those websites and do just that.
How Can I Find Survey or Land Information About this Property?
Survey information and other official property info can be found in the legal description of a property. The legal description usually contains information provided by a surveyor, and includes the exact dimensions and boundaries of any piece of land. The legal description is often (but not always) attached to the property deed.
The first place to look for this is at the county tax assessor’s office. This office will often (but not always) carry the deed or the legal description of a property for tax reasons. If your tax assessor doesn’t have this information, someone at the office should be able to tell you where to find it.
What Kind of Information Can I Not Find Out About a Property?
Due to anti-discrimination and equal opportunity laws, there are some types of information a real estate agent explicitly cannot share with you. This includes information about current and former residents, such as:
- Personal information like race or religion
- Family status
- Occupation
- Sexual orientation
- Occupation
- Religion or religious preference
- Disability status
- Ethnicity, race, or national origin
Your real estate agent probably won’t be able to tell you about the general makeup of the neighborhood, the kinds of people that live there, how many homes have children and of what ages, or the ethnicity, religious preference, or politics of the neighborhood’s residents. That’s one of the exciting things about moving to a new neighborhood!
2 Point Highlight
It’s relatively easy to find the sales history of homes.
One of the most important public records to search on a property, is the property’s tax record, to look for liens.
