Question 1

What should you verify before contacting an off-market property owner?

Accepted Answer

Before the first letter or call, verify on each record that the owner on your list still matches the county's records, that the mailing address or phone plausibly reaches that owner, and that the property hasn't been listed since you pulled the data. If you're calling or texting, verify too that every number has been screened. Proof that the person can sell, such as trust or company documents, and a title search come later, before an agreement is signed.

Question 2

What is the difference between the owner of record, the owner's mailing address, and the current occupant?

Accepted Answer

The owner of record is the person or entity that the county's deed and assessor records name as the owner. The owner's mailing address is where the county sends the tax bill for the parcel. The current occupant is whoever lives there today. One parcel can give a different answer to each, and the public records of property ownership don't establish who the occupant is.

Question 3

How do I find the real decision-maker when a property is owned by an LLC or trust?

Accepted Answer

For an LLC, three records can name a person: the owner record in your property data, a document the LLC signed, and its state filing. A signed document, such as a loan recorded against the property, carries the name in its signature block. For a trust, look for the trustee, who can be named as grantee on the deed that put the property into the trust. Each of these names tells you who held a role on a past date. So the first call confirms the role is current, and the entity's own documents settle who can sign a sale.

Question 4

What public records can I use to find the current owner of a property?

Accepted Answer

Two county records are useful starting points for finding a property's owner: the assessor's parcel record and the deeds recorded with the county recorder or clerk. Start with the assessor's record for the owner name and mailing address, then confirm that name against the most recent recorded deed. If the owner is a company, the state business filing gives you a person or an agent to contact. Before a purchase, a title search examines what a lookup leaves out: the chain of title and the liens against it.

Question 5

How can I find every property owned by the same person, LLC, or company?

Accepted Answer

Start with one property you know the owner holds and search outward from it. Run the owner's name and its spelling variants, then the mailing address on the tax bill, then the people named on the company's state filing. Each search turns up candidate parcels. Count a candidate as confirmed when its most recent recorded deed names your owner and the county index shows no later deed out on the day you search. That makes your owner the titleholder of record in the indexes you searched, as of that date. No index lists everything one person controls. What you can build is a list that is complete for the names, addresses, entities and counties you searched, and you can say exactly what it covers.

Property & Owner Records

What should you verify before contacting an off-market property owner?

What is the difference between the owner of record, the owner's mailing address, and the current occupant?

How do I find the real decision-maker when a property is owned by an LLC or trust?

What public records can I use to find the current owner of a property?

How can I find every property owned by the same person, LLC, or company?