Can paid data services help carry out due diligence?

[Sylvia Castellanos]

I am wondering if there is a data service that addresses my needs as someone seeking to buy vacant lands at tax deed sales. Tutorials  emphasize the need to do due diligence on all the following:

--check for taxes and liens against the property

--find out which taxes and liens, if any, will remain attached to the property

--make sure it is a buildable lot

--to do above, you need to establish how the lot is classified for code purposes, and access the lot specifications, minimums the lot must meet for construction to be allowed

--you further need to find out what its sewage situation is because 1) municipalities have different lot minimum specification for lots with public sewage and lots with septic; and 2) if the lot will require the construction of a septic tank, you need to take that into account in your decision.

--check to see if it is in a flood zone. Sometimes a property will be within a hair’s breadth of a flood zone on the map, and you need to get a yes or no from an official

Tutorials don’t mention how hard getting all this information can be because of uncooperative government agencies. It is not even an issue of the hours and hours this research takes up. The biggest problem is potential purchases I have had to abandon simply because either officials don’t call me back or they tell me to hire a lawyer to do a title search.

All of this is by way of setting the stage for my question. At this point, I am willing to consider subscribing to a data service if that is going to give me access to all or virtually all of the items of information I need. I would be very interested in your input.