You are out for a drive on a sunny afternoon and happen to see a beautiful home, piece of land, or commercial building that is exactly what you’ve been looking for. You’d love to take a tour right then and there. The trouble is that you have no idea who owns it. Fortunately, you do not have to knock on a stranger’s door or stalk the property until someone shows up. You have more acceptable options to get the information that you seek. According to the North Carolina Secretary of State, you have two main ways to find out who owns the property: looking at land records or reading a tax map. Both are fairly simple to do. Or you can use a real estate listing platform such as ProspectNow.
Land Records
North Carolina property owners can always be found by county officials. In fact, property deeds have to be registered with the recorder of deeds in the county where the property is located. In North Carolina, records are filed in the County Register of Deeds office or the County Clerk of Superior Court’s Office. Land records include deeds and other documents such as wills, mortgages, court orders, liens, and divorces. Getting all of the information you need on a parcel of land may require searching records in both offices, but you should get the job done with a little work and perseverance.
If you prefer to stay home and use your computer, you are in luck. Many North Carolina counties allow you to search for deeds online. Once you get to the land records page on the correct county website, you can look for a deed by searching in the following ways:
- Using the seller’s, or grantor’s, name.
- Using the buyer’s, or grantee’s, name.
- Using the deed book and page number.
Of course, you may have none of the above information, which means you should try using a tax map. You need less information when you use this option.
Tax Maps
County officials are sticklers about collecting tax money. North Carolina tax assessors use tax maps to assess yearly property taxes. Every NC county must keep an up-to-date map in order to properly calculate these taxes. As a result, tax maps include a complete inventory of land parcels, the tax value of the land, and the name of the owner of the land.
If you want to identify the owner of a certain parcel of land, you can either go to the local county tax office and look at the physical maps or go to the county’s website and find the online versions.
The easiest way to get this information is to visit http://www.ncgicc.com/GISinNCWhoWhatWhere.aspx. Once there, click on “Access to Local Geospatial Data in NC.” Then click on the correct county name to get to the website.
At most of these websites, you will be able to search for North Carolina property owners’ information by entering the parcel location or by providing the street address. Once you locate the parcel of land that interests you, simply select it. Information about the parcel, including ownership, should then display.
You may decide to visit the county tax office in order to get a physical copy of a tax map. If you decide to take this route, be prepared to pay a fee. In contrast, access to most online tax maps is free or requires only a minimal fee.
A little information and searching online will probably get you the information that you need. If you still can’t find it, phone your county tax office or visit it in person. The county officials will be able to help you as long as you have the address of the property you are interested in.
Prospect Now
Prospect Now is another excellent tool you can use to get information on North Carolina property owners. In fact, you can search for property throughout the United States on this comprehensive platform. ProspectNow has information on over 100 million residential properties and 42 million commercial ones.
By using this service, you can learn important data such as the age of a home, the property’s listing status, location, taxable value, and more. You can easily search this one site from the comfort of your home and find all the information that you need. The same goes for commercial properties. You will get in-depth data and even owner contact information.
When it comes to finding North Carolina property owners, ProspectNow is an excellent tool. You will receive predictive analytics which will predict which properties will likely sell or refinance in the next 12 months. Plus, you will get accurate sales comparables and a user-friendly experience that require no special tech ability.
Contact Us Now
Finding information on prized real estate should not be difficult. And while state-run sites are helpful, you can get fast and accurate property information on the ProspectNow site. In fact, you can often get more in-depth information faster than you would if you visited some county websites or offices.
Prospect Now has been around since 2008, so our process is well-tested and has produced many satisfied customers. If you are in real estate, you will find that using our platform will help you close more deals and make bigger profits. For more information and a free trial, contact us today!