Researching The History of a Property

The entire part of due diligence is crucial to end up being happy about your purchase. Knowing how to find the history of a house will be a key aspect. There are numerous ways to research the information of a home. I would highly recommend starting with your real estate agent. It would be helpful to make up a list of questions you would like answered about the property and go from there.

The buyer's agent should start with some careful due diligence on the home including verifying all the information represented by the owner is correct. Is the square footage of the home and lot accurate. These items are super important because they have a direct bearing on the market value of the property.

Did the owner of the home make significant improvements while during their ownership? If so, were the appropriate building permits pulled? You do not want to purchase a home with un-permitted work. Why? It will be your problem when you go to sell. Work that has not been permitted should be taken care of by the current owner.

A real estate agent can check on the property history by visiting the local town hall. The building department can show what permits have been pulled. A visit to the assessor and property tax collector can be helpful to understand the properties vital statistics for financial purposes.

If you are going to purchase a property for cash it will be essential to do a title search. While it will be a requirement of any lender, it would be a significant mistake not to do so when purchasing without a mortgage. The title search could reveal issues such as a lien against the property.

A property survey is also a must as well. There could be a property encroachment of a serious nature that you would be on the hook to deal with moving forward.

Another helpful way to research the history of a house is to do a Google search of the property address. If there were any terrible things that occurred on the property it is likely to show up. Maybe you would never want to buy a home where a murder took place or there was suspected paranormal activity? There are places you can go online that will give you this information.

The resource at the top of this article leads to Maximum Real Estate Exposure which has put together one of the best resources on searching a home's history. You can use this to find out just about anything you need to know about a specific house.

Doing this kind of research is paramount to ensure you're not making a home buying mistake. There are many folks who purchase property and later discover something either in the area or about the house that would have changed their purchase decision.

It could be something as simple as a sex offender located in the same neighborhood. Never skip the due diligence period in real estate, thinking it is not important. Doing so leads to regrettable problems.

Make the most of your due diligence and learn all you can about a home's history. You'll be glad you did. If you know someone who will be buying a house, feel free to pass along these tips.