Finding Owners Of Vacant Properties
Does anyone have any ideas on how to find out who owns a vacant properties? Found about 50 of them but the court house charges $5.00 per address for this type of search. Any ideas?? 
Did you try your tax assessors office to see what address the taxes are being sent to or is this the office that wants to charge $5
Have you tried to talk to the neighbors and get the name of the people who used to live there. Then you can call information and see if they have a number for this person, they can also give you the address(atleast they can in La.) this only cost $1.25. Just another suggestion.
The office that wants to charge $5.00 is the registrar of deed. So I may be able to go to the tax assessor and get the info.? I wonder if they do searches by address only? [ Edited by mush on Date 11/17/2003 ]
Try www.realquest.com, get the free trial. It may take a day or two for them to give you a password. They will allow you just so many searches, and then they will block most of the info. I used my free trial up long ago, but I'm still getting the name of the owner and the book and page number at the assesor's office. Just type in the address and city, state.
Look in the Web Links area first.
Members of this August Fraternity.
The first thing to learn is to study the various departments of government that handle items of information that are of value to you.
The Assessors office. You never should be in a position to ask. You should know where to go and where to look. It is all there and it is public record. This gives you ownership, this gives you land description, improvements tax rate, taxes etc. etc. Take time if it takes a couple of days do it. Buy coffee and get educated, do favors, get in get in.
The Recorders Office. There is a record made of every recordation. All of those records are there somewhere. There are items like Grantee-Grantor Index that give you a chain of ownership more complete then the begats in the bible.
Go to the Assessors Office, hang around tell them you want to know, you want to be an appraiser. Whatever it takes, once again buy coffee an occasional lunch. This is where you are going to be spending time. Get a line or two in.
Reach the point where you can call Jim who works there and he will run a property for you while you wait on line.
Remember you are in the midst of the biggest revolution since the Cotten Gin started the Industrial Revolution . It is the Information Revolution. All this stuff will be on line. In most places it is but at this moment you probably have to hack into it. But it is coming and fast.
I try to run everything out of a computer and I line up with all governmental agencies. The Courts, Probates, Estates
Foreclosures at all stages. Assessors records, Recording. I want to be able to get credit and background on anybody that I have to deal with. And so should all of you.
oops there I go soapbox again. Ah well back to my containers probably make a whole lot of money. But it's fun.
Excited Preaching Lucius