Home Buying 101: Researching A Home’s Public Information
Figure out your needs
Monthly cost of owning a home
Ideal Neighborhood
Financing Your Purchase
The FHA Mortgage
The Conventional Mortgage
The Adjustable Rate Mortgage
Department Of Veterans Affairs Mortgage
Pre-Qualified vs Pre-ApprovalPhase 2: Looking
Looking at homes
Types of homes
Single Family Homes
Town Homes
Condominium
Twin Homes
Multi-Family Homes
Types of sellers
Traditional
Short Sale
Foreclosed
Phase 3: Buying
Making an offer that counts
The Purchase Agreement
Buyer Letter to Seller
Inspections: Why get one?
Radon Testing
Sewer Line Scope Inspection
Fireplace Chimney Inspection
Mechanicals
Phase 4: Closing
Closing Costs Explained
Title Work
Appraisals
Underwriting
Utility Bills
Preparing for the Closing
The Closing
Public information is available for almost every home in and around the Twin Cities Metro Area, and likely most of the country. The basics of who owns the home, the tax basis, and the prior sale information can usually be found on the various county websites. For instance, our office resides in a large office building. The building’s county information looks like this:
It states that the building was purchased for $25,000,000 in June, 2000. The owner is “7700 France Avenue LLC.” It also shows the taxes for 2015 were $961,005.60 and that there were no special assessments. There is also a link to a map view that overlays the lot lines on a satellite view. Note that this is not extremely accurate, certainly not accurate enough to put in a fence. But it gives a pretty good idea of the lot. Here is our office complex:
Here is a link to a page with more resources:
https://searchingtwincities.com/buyer-resources/