@John Semanchuk Here's an exact tax rate breakdown by county (2015): http://www.sccounties.org/Data/Sites/1/media/publications/propertytax2015.pdfFor everyone not familiar, using John's house example in Richland county, school district one would be $200,000 x 6% = $12,000Then multiply the county and school district millage rate at a total of 0.4321 x $12,000 = $5,185 straight to the tax man.

You also have a written record of your intended mortgage fraud publicly available on the Internet. 

Just a public service announcement. 

The trust agreement is a private document and will not be recorded or filed in the public records.

Even when it's not, a simple public records search can usually lead me to the missing information.  

While this is fine, your assumptions and public comments are bold for your assumed lack of knowledge.

Everything is so spread out here, so there is less of a commuting culture (it's just another day driving to work), plus virtually no public transportation other than buses.

Permits are public information, so anybody can find this information out, you don’t need an inspector.

I know I can go about buying lists, but how do I navigate the public records to pinpoint motivated sellers?

Since I am not familiar with the NY area, I was hoping to find him an attorney to speak to regarding his needs, which I believe are as follows;- Determine if he should put these properties in 1 or 2 separate LLCs- Determine which type of LLC would suit his needs best- Start said LLC/s in NY (and handle the publication requirements)- Quit claim the deed from his name to his LLC- Steer him right in determining other needs in terms of opening a business bank account, adjust insurance policies, etcDoes anyone know a suitable candidate to help my father out in this endeavor?