How to Look up Property Records

Looking up property records can be beneficial to those working in real estate or law, and need to find property information. It is also helpful to those in other frields, who need to find property owner information, as well as information about the property itself. Property records are public, so anyone has the right to find them. Finding property records does not have to be difficult, as long as one knows where to look.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Determine what county the property is located in within the state. If you do not know, call the city hall of the town or city the property is in and ask. You must know the county to find the most accurate property data.

2. Go to that county's main website. Most county's websites will have a .gov attached to them. Once on the main county website, look at their links. You want to click on property records if it is available. Many county's however, do not have such a link. In this case, you must click on the Auditor's website.

3. Once on the Auditor's website, you will need to find the Property Tax Information link. Click on this link. On some sites it may not say Property Tax Information, but rather, Appraisal and Data. Both links should take you where you need to go.

4. Now you will need to type in the information that you do have on the property in order to do a search. You will need to know either the owner's name, the property address or the PPN, which is the permanent parcel number assigned to that property by the county. Enter the information you know, and then click on the submit button.

5. Click on different tabs once you are on the property information site in order to find different information out about the property. Most county's have tax information online, appraisal information and property statistics such as size, bedrooms, bathrooms, year built, etc. You can also find out about comparable sales on most of these sites. Take your time to browse the links, or tabs, on the page, usually the top or the left side.

6. If you need to find out information about data that is recorded, such as Mortgages or other liens, such as Tax liens or Mechanic liens, you will need to go back to the county's main website. Instead of property records or the Auditor's link, click on the Recorder's link. You will need to enter the property information again to pull up any recorded data. This should bring up a link of recorded documents, and many websites offer the feature of clicking on the recorded document to see exactly what it is.

Tips & Warnings

• The more information you have on a property, the easier your search will be.
• Don't pay for this information; it is public information. Some non-government sites offer this service for a fee, but it is not neccessary.

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