Norcross, GA · Member since 2016 · 15 posts · 4 votes
I found an abandoned house and owner passed away a couple months now, but the neighbor said the owner has no relative to inherit. My question is how to find out who is actually holding the property? Where can I go to find this sort of information?
Apalachin, NY · Member since 2014 · 12 posts · 9 votes
10y
Jason Le,
This is my favorite part about the process. I learned from a guy who has done title searches for over 20 years. Each county is different slightly and some counties have online access. But the general guidelines are as follows:
-go to your county clerk - they will always point you in the right direction. Or go online.
-what your looking for is usually referred to as the 'tax map ID'. It looks like an IP Address, formatted with numbers, periods, and dashes. (This is what the town used to identify each lot.
-use this tax map to look up many things in the county such as outstanding taxes, Liens, current owner, etc.
-just ask the nice ladies (or gentlemen) how and they will show you.
Notes: 1. I use the websites now that I know what to look for I can pull it up on my phone on site. 2. I use SPOKEO, a website with a subscription, to look for more contact information on the owner. It is very helpful... Very weird to know it exists though.
Hope this helps.
JV
Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
10y
Tax assessor is only a clue. It shows who the county is trying to tax and perhaps the address that they are sending bills to.
However, this nay have nothing to do with who is record owner today.
Suggest you search this site and determine PETIO;
Property
Equity
Title
Interests
Opportunity
This format is progressive, meaning that it starts with the easy stuff first.
To begin, determine if the asset is worth pursuing. Does it have sufficient equity based on your intentions?
The record owner is generally considered the owner or title holder. The county recorder is where you determine who that person or entity is. If it's a bank of corporate owner, it's a no-go for a newbie. If the owner is deceased, it will get pretty complicated for most people new to real estate.
Now you know. What is the next action that you will take?
I did not find it useful. It did not provide property owner's info (I entered my own home) and the screen you agree to pay $1 on actually signs you up for an $18.95/mo plan.
They are prompt at cancelling and reversing all charges.
Investor · Athens, GA · Member since 2011 · 306 posts · 156 votes
10y
@Jason Le -- Call the tax commissioners office for Gwinnett, have the address and map parcel number of the property ready. Ask them two things - Are the taxes current and who paid them? If the name is different than the person who passed away, then that is the perosn to contact. They don't have to give this info out, so get ready to "sweet talk" them and be really nice on the phone. If the owner of record is already showing different than the person who passed then this job will be easy for you. If there really was no will, or person to "inherit" the home, then you will have to wait for probate, which is not quick in Georgia. That is a whole different long story of how to get the property. Update us on what you find.
Wholesaler · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2016 · 1 post · 1 vote
10y
I agree with Jason Le, I would start with probate for a deceased owner. I would also use Ricks PETIO to determine if it is worth my time and effort. Probate can be a long process and unless your business model is aquiring deals out of probate, it may not be worth your time and effort. On the other hand, pursuing this property through probate will require you to learn about the probate process, possibly opening up another business model for you to find deals. Probate deals are some of the best deals out there, you just have to learn the process. Good luck.
Apalachin, NY · Member since 2014 · 12 posts · 9 votes
10y
Jason Le,
This is my favorite part about the process. I learned from a guy who has done title searches for over 20 years. Each county is different slightly and some counties have online access. But the general guidelines are as follows:
-go to your county clerk - they will always point you in the right direction. Or go online.
-what your looking for is usually referred to as the 'tax map ID'. It looks like an IP Address, formatted with numbers, periods, and dashes. (This is what the town used to identify each lot.
-use this tax map to look up many things in the county such as outstanding taxes, Liens, current owner, etc.
-just ask the nice ladies (or gentlemen) how and they will show you.
Notes: 1. I use the websites now that I know what to look for I can pull it up on my phone on site. 2. I use SPOKEO, a website with a subscription, to look for more contact information on the owner. It is very helpful... Very weird to know it exists though.
Hope this helps.
JV
This is actually how I purchase almost all of my properties. Check out your county assessors website, or go in person and get the mailing address for the tax statements. If the property has a mortgage, your assessor can tell you who (which bank) holds the mortgage, or if it has no mortgage whomever is the trustee will be receiving the tax statements in the mail. More often then not, when an individual passes away, the assets will enter probate and be assigned to a personal representative by a judge for disbursement, unless a will dictates otherwise. Most likely, the previous owner had no will recorded, and therefore all of the assets were awarded to kids/brothers and sisters per state law. They probably all live far away, thus the reason the neighbor thinks there were no heirs, as no one ever came by the house to clean it out.
I have never run into a situation where there are no heirs, as in the State of Oregon, law allows automatic transfer to partners/Spouses, then Kids, then parents and siblings. One of these is almost always alive.
Norcross, GA · Member since 2016 · 15 posts · 4 votes
10y
Thanks Mike and everyone else! I took off work tomorrow and will go to the tax assessor and gather as much information as I can. I will update the situation so If anyone know how to guide me from there on I will be very grateful
Norcross, GA · Member since 2016 · 15 posts · 4 votes
10y
Okay, So here is what I found from my County Courthouse. There was no mortgage on that property, and there was tax fee of $260.59 on 2012 of October, now the tax went up to $780 and it has been 3 years since the payment. The owner have passed away and I found a phone number that was under his name, I called and a his relative picked up, but they have no idea about the property/address location. Or have interest in selling any property or what so ever (they may not know anything about that property)
How do I know if his relative would have inherit the property
What should I do next?
1. Should I go to the city and check to see if it is taken by the city to list for auction?
2. Should I give this person a call again to get their full information.
Norcross, GA · Member since 2016 · 15 posts · 4 votes
10y
Updated Information*
I went to my City clerk office, basically the house is nearly impossible to own. The story is the owner passed away 2 years ago and has medical bill that he could not pay for in which he signed his house over to the hospital or the creditor. One thing is the creditor may have forgotten about this house because the owner is a senior and does not have to pay property tax. And the house have not been updated at the court house, so the house is still basically under the owner who have passed away.