Who owns that lot?

June 16, 2009 6:19 PM

How can I find the owner of that abandoned lot?

There's a project I want to do in an abandoned lot nearby. (I live in east Los Angeles) It'll take a week and we'll need to build a few things, so I'll definitely need to get in touch with the owner of the lot (no fence hopping in and out quickly). So... how do I find the owner of that lot, man?

posted by gilgamix to home & garden (9 comments total)

Call your city zoning department or go visit them. This information is typically public record.
posted by odinsdream at 6:33 PM on June 16

Property tax records? http://assessor.lacounty.gov/extranet/DataMaps/Pais.aspx
posted by ijoyner at 6:35 PM on June 16

I used the page ljoyner linked to, but could find no name listed. I guess the internet might not contain every piece of information in the world, yet.
posted by gilgamix at 7:17 PM on June 16

Every county in the US has a database of property, where you can type in an owners name or an address, and get tons of information. Lot and block, zoning, sales records, liens, and owner information. In most counties, the database is free. In big cities, like LA, you have to pay for the service, because they get so much more inter-net traffic.

ijoyner has the right website, the county assessors site. here is the page to pay for the service:
http://assessor.lacounty.gov/extranet/Outsidesales/online.aspx
It looks like $75, and for one month, you can type in any address, and get all the info you need - owner's name, owner's adress, even how much the owner paid for it.

But, the information is all public record, and is free to obtain. You could call the number on the pay for service page, and find out the steps to get the info free - probably have to go down to the assessor's office, wait in line with people fighting fore-closure and other land problems, and wait your turn to submit a free land info request.
posted by Flood at 7:18 PM on June 16

Another thought is property shark. A pay service to find out info on various real estate.
Here is the property shark site for LA County.
http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/california/index.html
I am not sure what a single look-up costs, but you might check it out.
posted by Flood at 7:24 PM on June 16

Call the public library - they should have free access to the database. You may have to go a branch to search - but it will be much speedier than going to the tax assessor's office...
posted by cinemafiend at 9:16 PM on June 16

Yet another way would be to google who your city councilman is then contact his office and ask if they can help you get the info.

Also, get the address of the property then call the tax collector's office and ask for the owner's name.
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 9:29 PM on June 16

Oops, meant to include a mention that the property records clerk, where deeds and mortgages are recorded, would have this information as well. Most likely, you'd need to know the block and lot number; sometimes the information can be searched by address.
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 9:32 PM on June 16

2nding propertyshark, which usually has the same info as assessor's offices (or links to it). Getting an account is free (like, really free, no CC info exchanged), although it's very limited. For one lot, though, it's fine.
posted by zvs at 7:18 AM on June 17