How to Get Property Appraisal Records or Property Tax Information for Any Location in the United States
As the Internet becomes more and more a part of our lives, public records are more easily accessible by any private citizen with access to a computer, browser and Internet connection. All property assessments are available for free on line and searchable at county recorder's websites. Many, but not all, of these websites also include the property's appraisal if it was performed by a county appraiser. Private appraisals (e.g., ones performed at the request of a mortgage lender or homeowner) are considered private information and therefore are not entered into public databases.
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Instructions
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Open the browser and type in any one of the following three addresses: http://publicrecords.netronline.com/, http://publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/, or http://www.blackbookonline.info/. Each of these websites is a portal that allows one to access public records databases.
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Select the state or data type you are interested in. Each portal accesses the databases a little bit differently. One site may ask for the ZIP code to be entered. Each site will also name its navigation buttons slightly different (e.g., "Find," "Submit," "Search"). Follow the site-specific on-screen instructions to get to the County Auditor's website in the state and county where the property that you are interested in finding information about is located.
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Click the "County Auditor" link that appears in the main panel of the screen. All of the county's public record databases may appear, including those for court records and taxes. The county auditor handles property taxes and property assessments.
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Select the navigation button that allows you to do a property search. The name of it may differ from county to county and state to state, but it is usually well-marked. The button may simply say "Search" or "Find a Property."
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Enter the address of the property, and press the "Search" or "Submit" button. Most databases will also allow you to search for property tax information by the property owner's name, the property's parcel number or other information about the property.
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Click the parcel number of the listing that appears. Some listings will also provide the owner's name and street address, which may or may not be clickable. Once the data concerning the property appears, you will have several choices to find out specific types of sub-information, like the property's appraised value, its assessed value and the land value.
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Tips & Warnings
Some on line databases require data to be entered in a specific format, but the websites are not always clear as to how the data should be formatted. For instance, if the property you want to find information about is "101 E. Chestnut St.," some databases will not provide a listing unless you type in "East" instead of "E" or "Street" instead of "St." Try entering the information in a different format if you are having trouble finding the listing.
While the information online is current with what the government office has, some counties only reassess property value every two to four years. Therefore the information given online may not be current in terms of a property's actual fair market value, especially if the local housing market has recently changed.
References
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