Advice on locating land owners

[asmerri]

Hello All,

I'm fairly new to TN and realize that this may not be the proper forum but I would greatly appreciate some of your expert advice.

I have only recently become a "serious" detector enthusiast. Now that detecting is always on my brain, I am constantly observing old houses and dilapidated farm houses on farm land as I drive by. I would kill to detect on the most likely undetected sites. The only problem is that I have no idea how to locate the property owners of these sites in order to gain access to the properties. Can any of you give me advice on how to obtain land ownership information. I'm interested in researching farmland houses as well as now vacant home sites within city limits.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

-Andy

 

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[HutSiteDigger]

Call the register of deeds department in the county where the property is located. This department keeps a record of all properties in the county. Most counties have an online search database that allows you to search by property address.

Contact the county assessor office. The county assessor office maintains tax records of all properties in a specific county. Call them or go online to its website to conduct a search on its online portal. Generally, the search provides the names of the property owners and if taxes are paid or delinquent.


When asking for permission always be professional and make sure you make them feel you are really in it for the history and not just a hobby. Be professional and actually going to the land owners house with old maps and history of the property will work a lot too!

 

[jeff of pa]

do you know the County ? GOOGLE

go online and type in the county name,& state with the word GIS after

example if I type in schuylkill county pa gis into google

I get the counties parcel viewer which shows all land owner info for the county

not all counties across the country are online, but worth a try.

Parcel viewers can show you Property lines also

 

[jeff of pa]

if the above doesn't work,

Closes neighbor, Post office, Fire company, Local police, Court House

would be my 5 other options in order.

1> closest neighbor. Sometimes these people will be in charge of watching the place,
or at least know what's going on. I've had some say , Just go do it, nobody will care.
since the closest neighbor would be the one to call the cops, I take that as Go ahead.

2> Post office . because they need to deliver mail, they usually know everyone or who to ask

3> Fire Company. they usually also know everyone or who to ask

4> Local police . Sometimes these people consider themselves in charge of watching the place,
or at least know what's going on. I've had some say , Just go do it, nobody will care.
since they are the cops, I take that as Go ahead.

5. > Court House . pain in the butt, especially when you find a lazy court worker,
& can cost money in some cases . but is an option.

I suppose you could try the Local tax collector also.
I don't know if they are sworn to secrecy, but they should have records.
or try a local real estate agent

 

[asmerri]

do you know the County ? GOOGLE

go online and type in the county name with the word GIS after

example if I type in schuylkill county pa gis into google

I get the counties parcel viewer which shows all land owner info for the county

not all counties across the country are online, but worth a try.

Parcel viewers can show you Property lines also

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=769490"/>

Does the parcel viewer have a monthly fee associated with it in order to get owner information?

 

[jeff of pa]

Does the parcel viewer have a monthly fee associated with it in order to get owner information?

Mine doesn't.
some do & can be rather Expensive.
they like to soak the real estate agents
who use them religously.

You would need to try & see what happens

 

[jeff of pa]

type of info that can be found. Sorry I XXXX out some tracking details

	4/1/2013​

General Information Tax Map ​ xxxx Parcel Address ​ 0 THOMASTON ROAD XXXXXXX School District ​ Minersville Area Municipality​ xxxxx Legal Information Front Of Lot:​ Depth:​ Unit of Front:​ Acres:​ Land Use Type:​ 101 Roll Section:​ 1 Assessment Property Class:​ R (Assessment Property Class is NOT a Zoning Classification. Contact the appropriate Municipal Zoning Officer for Zoning Info.) Current Ownership Information Owner Name​ Owner Address ​ Deed Bk/PG ​ Sale Date ​ XXXXXXX ​ XXXXXX ​ XXXXXX ​ 4/13/1992 ​ Bill To Information Owner Name​ Owner Address ​ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX Value Data BASE YEAR: 1996 ​ Base Year Value​ Assessed Value ​ Land:​ PA Ag Land:​ Misc Structures:​ Buildings:​ 1010 Total:​ 1010 Land:​ PA Ag Land:​ Improvements:​ 505 Total:​ 505 Status ​ Clean & Green:​ N Homestead:​ N Site Information Site:​ A Terrain:​ Water Type:​ P Sewer Type:​ SE Natural Gas:​ N Road Type:​ P Location Type:​ SPOT Road Access:​ C Sidewalk:​ N Fronting:​ RES Rail Access:​ N

View Sales History

Building Information​

Hide Buildings​

Building (resident) 1 of 1 Stories:​ 2 Finished Basement:​ Total Living Area:​ 1590 Total Rooms: ​ 6 Attic with Stairs ​ NONE Total Perimeter:​ 262 Bed Rooms:​ 3 Dug Basement %:​ 100 Exterior Wall 1:​ AS Family Rooms:​ 0 Year Built: ​ 1845 Exterior Wall 2:​ Full Baths: ​ 1 Effective Age: ​ 1845 # of Car Garage:​ 0 Half Baths: ​ 0 Exterior Condition:​ P Sq. Ft of Garage:​ Heating Type: ​ HW Interior Condition: ​ S Sq. Ft. Encl. Porch:​ Fireplace Count:​ 0 House Grade:​ D Building Value:​ 1011 Central Air: ​ N Building Use Code:​ DETACH Sketch Floor: ​ Unfinished Basement: ​ Heating Type:​ Floor Type/Finish:​ Interior Wall:​ Class of Construction:​ Commercial Grade: ​ Exterior Wall:​

Miscellaneous Structures	Hide Structures
No Miscellaneous Structures Found​

Sketches	Hide Sketches
Image Id:3407-0

Pictures	Hide Pictures
Pictures: 1​

Schuylkill County Assessment Bureau CAMA Card ​

4/1/2013​

 

[asmerri]

Sweet! Can you tell me the free site you use or is it state specific?

 

[jeff of pa]

Sweet! Can you tell me the free site you use or is it state specific?

sorry yes it's state & particularly County Specific

see post #3 above.

there are sites that cover he country that sell the info, but you don't want them

 

[Panache]

Here is the one for most of Alabama. Alabama GIS
Here is one for some of Alabama and others. Smart Data Strategies - eMaps+

 

[tennessee digger]

Great info guys. Jeff has some really good ideas. Thanks and if all else fails go to the nearest neighbor and ask (like Jeff said). I do it all the time.

 

[asmerri]

Thanks to everyone for all the advice! Very helpful!