How to find out who owns a property

If you want to purchase a home that's not for sale, inquire about vacant land, or even learn more about the history of your own home, searching public records for ownership can be your greatest tool.

Property owners can be found through an array of public information databases, many of them free and searchable from the comfort of your home. This information can help if you pass by your dream home and want to inquire about purchasing it, or if you just bought a home and want to know its past by speaking to the former owners.

Here's how to find the name of a property owner:

Even professional private investigators use online public records in their searches for property owners, said Jordan Scherer of R.A. Private Investigation and Security in Chicago.

"We do often run the searches through the deed and assessor's office, and even the secretary of state if we want a business report in accordance with that property," he said.

The deed registry and tax assessor's office should be the first stops on your journey.

Start by identifying the county in which the home or land is located. Then, find the record or register of deeds within that county. This could be within the county clerk's office, separate, or tied into the assessor's office.

If you can locate the PIN, APN, or parcel identification number, that can be helpful in gathering the most accurate results. A PIN is the number given to a plot of land. On Homes.com, this can be found at the bottom of a listing. It's also locatable within the MLS, or Multiple Listing Service, the most popular database used for home sales.

These offices permit different searches. Some require searching by a grantor or grantee's name. This means the person who was granted a mortgage or deed, and by whom. Unfortunately, this is the information you're seeking, so this route won't work.

Some counties allow you to search by an address or PIN. A deed registry will provide the homeowner's name, mortgage details, and likely past owners dating back decades. It likely won't provide the home's entire history if it's an older property, but you can visit the county clerk's office in person to find older deed information.

If searching the deed registry does not work, try the assessor's office. The assessor holds information about property taxes, such as the taxpayer's name, main address, types of property taxes paid, an image of the property, a descriptor, characteristics and a short history of the property taxes paid.

This platform can help you see how much you'd be required to pay in taxes annually if you own the home, either by showing the assessed value or tax history. Some assessor's offices offer past owner and sales information, but many do not.

The deed registry and the assessor's office could require a small fee.

The MLS platform, where most home sales are recorded, will include past and current owner names, tax information, a PIN, and a home's characteristics. Many listing sites, like Homes.com, pull from public data to populate this information. You can also contact a real estate agent to pull this information for you.

"MLS is essentially public in a way because it's accessed by [listing sites] and reposted. At that point, it's taking the same information," said Scherer.

If a home has been sold before, its information will remain on Homes.com.

If these methods don't work, you can turn to a pro.

A private investigator, title company, or attorney can locate more information about a property than is listed on the MLS or at the assessor's office and deed registry, but they will come with a heftier fee.

Private investigator: Scherer said most private investigators will use all or a combination of databases, accessible mostly only to licensed professionals: LexisNexis Accurint, Citizen and Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting (CLEAR), TransUnion and idiCORE.

"Anyone in the industry charges from anywhere, I would say $100 to $250, just depending on the agency and how much they're looking to profit, frankly," said Scherer.

These databases pull from public documents but expand to include business and corporate, utility billing, and postal service information, which can be helpful in identifying a property purchased by a business entity, like an LLC.

"I never like to rely on these reports as standalone," said Scherer. "You have to confirm everything."

Search for records with a title company: Title companies can gather the most robust results, including searching for liens on a property or other aspects that could affect the home sale.

Get advice from a real estate attorney: They will likely be the most expensive option for finding property ownership.

However, they're also invaluable if an LLC owns the property. Investment companies or individuals often use limited liability companies to keep their names off the property deed. You can search a state's business entities to find who owns an LLC, but many times it will not be filed within the state of the property, making it challenging to find the owner.

Still stuck? There are other ways:

It's still possible to find out who owns a property if public resources and contacting real estate professionals have not paid off. Methods such as contacting the owners or their neighbors in person or visiting your local library can be helpful.

Knock on the door or send a letter: The most direct way to contact the owner is to visit the home. You may be able to get the owner's name, even if renters live there.

Leaving a note with your contact information and reason for reaching out is an excellent way to introduce yourself, even if there's no one home. You can also send a letter. 

Ask the neighbors: They may tell you about the owners and possibly the property's condition. In some instances, they might also be able to introduce you to the owners or pass on a message.

Search the internet or library archives: Performing internet searches on your own or at the local library is another avenue that may uncover property ownership.

Libraries can be especially helpful because librarians are trained to find specific information using databases and reference materials. Your local library could also have historical documents for the county or town. Those records can reveal the history of a home or the ownership details of a property that hasn't changed hands in decades.   

Librarians can access older documentation, such as historical building permits, and other helpful information, such as whether streets were renamed.