I understand that the house would have to be in my name to protect myself, and check to make sure he has a track record of success.

Hey All,Just wondering if anyone in this group of intelligent people has any advice regarding preliminary search when researching property information.  As an agent I have found that different municipalities have wild...

A title Opinion, if accurate, still only deals with what is recorded/apparent, Today. 

This for an operator with an experience and track record.

Once you are able to establish a track record, and a comfort, then you can start working more creative deal structures.  

I'm struggling to find their addresses though to lookup tax records.

The borrower likely has no track record and is moving from residential to 5+ units, the sellers tend to keep poor books as they manage themselves with those few units, at a 10 unit level you really can't land a professional multifamily PM company as it's not worth their time versus larger buildings.

You'd have like been paying the property taxes because the record owner has not.

@Louise Whidby-Drake specifically for new hanover county, try etax.nhcgov.com and click on property records.  

This is your record of the property prior to someone moving in.