How do you find out more about an abandoned property?

August 22, 2013 3:58 PM

So every day on my neighborhood walk I go by what was once a beautiful house that is clearly abandoned and in disrepair. Overgrown yard, two rusted out cars filled with trash, 4-5 years' worth of phone books piled on the front stoop, etc. It's surprising because the other houses in the neighborhood are all pretty well kept, and the house itself is striking and appears well built. Recently I've been fantasizing about buying it and fixing it up; is this even possible? How can I find out what the status of the property is and who owns it?
posted by annekate to Home & Garden (14 answers total)

In the U.S., property records are available at the county recorder. Many counties have the information online; otherwise, you may have to go downtown and look. That should get you started towards figuring out who owns the place. You can also check property tax records to find out who's paying the taxes. (Somebody must be, or the city/county/state will acquire the property eventually, and will probably sell it at auction to recover the back taxes.)
posted by spacewrench at 4:06 PM on August 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Call City Hall and ask them about public land records and if you can see them. Historians do this all the time. If you're not used to reading those, ask for some help. Some of them can be tricky to interpret. Or just ask the clerk in records to do it for you. Just provide the street address. They are usually helpful (and probably bored). You may able accomplish this over the phone.
posted by elendil71 at 4:06 PM on August 22, 2013

Where do you live? In my city the most popular item on the city's website is the tax/ city appraisal records, which are searchable online and from which you can find out owner's name at any given address.
posted by charmedimsure at 4:07 PM on August 22, 2013 [4 favorites]

I have known some really down and dirty inheritance disputes over glorious houses that ended up with the house purposely and completely falling apart before one side would give in and let the other have it, simply out of spite. I understand that this is not unusual. Maybe the neighbors know the back story?
posted by halfbuckaroo at 4:11 PM on August 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

In my area, the County Assessor, Recorder and Clerk are all one guy with one office (that basically takes up most of one building). Ownership information, assessed tax value (basically what the county thinks the property is worth for property taxes), and a building's property history can all be found there.
posted by LionIndex at 4:19 PM on August 22, 2013

Yeah, county clerk or perhaps county treasurer will have deeds, liens, mortgages, all that and also assessed value, taxes etc. Some counties have the records online -- I'd go directly to the county clerk's office website. Some states have public databases of it too. Try this link to see some potential options. Otherwise, you can physically go down there and the records should be on a public computer there.
posted by AppleTurnover at 4:24 PM on August 22, 2013

Best answer: Your profile says you're in San Francisco, so you would go here. If you can find the property on the map located here, you may be able to get all the information you need from manipulating the layers shown in the map.
posted by LionIndex at 4:24 PM on August 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Aha, that's perfect! I found it, but I feel my dreams may be dashed. The house was last sold in 1975 for 6% of its current value. Based on property records it looks like it was inherited in 2012. Perhaps the current owners are waiting to get the money together to fix it up to sell? They are paying about $600 per year in property tax in a neighborhood full of $800k-$1M homes, so unfortunately there is no real pressure for them to do anything with that property. I'm kinda surprised the city will just let it sit in that state though.
posted by annekate at 4:58 PM on August 22, 2013

There's always adverse possession.
posted by bq at 5:18 PM on August 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

To my understanding, the city doesn't do anything about homes in disrepair unless people call in code violations.
posted by aniola at 5:32 PM on August 22, 2013

I don't think your dreams are dashed. I'd go to a real estate agent and ask them to contact the owner to see if they are interested in selling it. You never know; maybe the owner would like to get rid of it. Wouldn't hurt to ask.
posted by NoraCharles at 5:45 PM on August 22, 2013 [10 favorites]

Was the house inherited in 2012 by a specific individual, or by someone acting as executor for the estate of a deceased owner? It'll make a difference.

If the records list it as held by the estate, there's a chance the executor is merely a bit of a screwup --- they could be failing to file probate paperwork; they could be indulging in wishful thinking about the realistic current market value of the house ("but the house two doors down sold for $$$$ several years ago --- ours MUST be worth more than that!"). There could be an argument between multiple heirs: do we sell the house or rent it out or does one of us live in it?

Or alternatively: the house is owned by or held in trust for someone who is unable to live there, such as someone in a nursing home.
posted by easily confused at 6:27 PM on August 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yeah, do what NoraCharles said. Except... skip the agent. Just send a letter, perhaps with delivery confirmation.
posted by zvs at 8:18 PM on August 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Ask the neighbors. They'll know plenty.

There's a similar old mansion-y house in our neighborhood, and all the veterans here know the story: the owner is upset with the city for not letting him rezone it for business, and he's sitting on it and letting it rot.
posted by intermod at 10:20 PM on August 22, 2013