Property Records Explained: How to Research Real Estate Ownership

I've spent years digging through county assessor databases and recorder offices, and if there's one thing I keep coming back to, it's how underused property records are by regular people. Most folks don't realize that there's a massive public ledger tracking who owns what, how much they paid, and what liens are sitting on a property -- and it's all free to look up. If you're buying a home, checking out a neighborhood, or just curious about that vacant lot on your street, property records are where you start.

What Are Property Records?

Property records are official government documents tracking ownership history, physical characteristics, legal boundaries, and financial obligations tied to a piece of real estate. In the U.S., these records live at the county level (though some states organize them by town or parish).

The two offices you'll deal with most are the County Assessor (sometimes called the Tax Assessor) and the County Recorder (sometimes called the Register of Deeds or Clerk of Court). The assessor figures out what every parcel is worth for tax purposes. The recorder maintains what's called the chain of title -- basically the full history of deeds, mortgages, liens, and other documents affecting a property over time.

Key Components of Property Records

Deed Records

A deed is the legal instrument that transfers ownership from one party to another. When a home sells, the new deed gets recorded with the county recorder, creating a permanent public record. Deeds typically include the grantor (seller) and grantee (buyer) names, a legal description of the property, the transfer date, and sometimes the sale price.

You'll mostly encounter two types: warranty deeds, where the seller guarantees they hold clear title, and quitclaim deeds, which transfer whatever interest the seller might have -- no guarantees attached. I've seen quitclaim deeds cause real confusion for first-time buyers who don't understand the difference. A neighbor of mine in Cobb County, Georgia once bought a small parcel via quitclaim from a family member, only to discover later there was an old mechanic's lien on it. Not fun.

Tax Assessment Data

Every year, the county assessor evaluates each property and assigns an assessed value. This number can differ wildly from market value depending on your state's methodology.

Assessment records usually include the land value, the improvement (building) value, total assessed value, the tax rate, and your resulting annual property tax. Many states also list exemptions -- homestead, veteran, senior citizen -- that knock down the taxable amount. Frankly, most homeowners never bother checking whether they qualify for exemptions they're already entitled to. That's money left on the table.

Parcel Information

Each property gets a unique parcel number (also called a tax ID number, APN, or PIN). Think of it as a Social Security number for your land. This number links all records for a given property across different government systems. Parcel records generally cover lot size, zoning classification, land use code, school district, year built, square footage, and building characteristics.

Mortgage and Lien Records

When a buyer takes out a mortgage, the lender records a deed of trust or mortgage lien against the property. These filings are public and show the borrower's name, lender's name, loan amount, and recording date. Other liens that pop up include mechanic's liens (contractors who didn't get paid), tax liens (the government wants its money), and judgment liens (from court rulings).

One thing people don't always realize: these lien records are searchable. If you're thinking about buying a property, you can check for yourself whether there are outstanding claims against it before you ever make an offer.

How to Look Up Property Ownership

You've got a few different routes here, and honestly, which one works best depends on what county you're dealing with.

County Assessor and Recorder Websites

Most counties now have online portals where you can search by owner name, address, or parcel number. The quality varies enormously, though. I've used portals in places like Maricopa County, Arizona that have fantastic GIS mapping tools and tons of detail. Then I've tried searching in small rural counties in West Virginia where the website looks like it was built in 2003 and you basically need to call someone on the phone. Just search for "[county name] assessor" or "[county name] recorder" to find the right office.

State-Level Databases

Several states maintain centralized property databases that pull data from all counties. These are handy when you're not sure which county a property falls in (it happens more than you'd think, especially near county borders).

Aggregated People and Property Search Tools

Services like OpenDataUSA compile property records from thousands of counties into a single searchable interface. This is the approach I'd recommend when you want to find all properties owned by a specific person across multiple states, or when you need to quickly ID the current owner without navigating some unfamiliar county website. Our data sources page explains the public records we aggregate and how we keep them current.

What Property Records Can Tell You

Here's where it gets practical. Property records aren't just for real estate agents and lawyers.

• Homebuyers -- verify that a seller actually owns what they're selling, check for outstanding liens, and compare the asking price to assessed value and recent comp sales.
• Homeowners -- monitor your assessed value to make sure you're not getting over-taxed. If the number looks too high relative to your local market, file an appeal. (People win these more often than you'd expect.)
• Investors -- research ownership patterns, find properties with tax delinquencies, and analyze historical sale prices to spot trends in specific neighborhoods.
• Journalists and researchers -- trace property ownership to uncover conflicts of interest, identify absentee landlords, or document patterns of property acquisition by corporations or public officials.
• Neighbors -- figure out who owns that vacant, overgrown lot so you can actually contact them about it.

Assessed Value vs. Market Value

This trips people up constantly. The assessed value is what the county assessor came up with using mass appraisal techniques -- it's strictly for calculating your property taxes. Market value is what a real buyer would actually pay. Depending on the state, assessed value might be a fraction of market value (some states assess at 50% or even 10% of estimated market value), might lag years behind recent price increases, or might use a completely different methodology.

Here's a real-world example: a friend of mine bought a house in suburban Atlanta for $380,000 in 2023, but the county assessed it at $290,000. She was thrilled until she realized the assessment would catch up -- and her tax bill would jump accordingly.

If you believe your assessment is too high, most jurisdictions let you file a formal appeal, usually within a specific window after assessment notices go out. You'll need evidence: recent comparable sales, an independent appraisal, or documentation of property defects the assessor might have missed.

Privacy Considerations

Property records are public by design. That transparency is a cornerstone of the American land title system -- it's what prevents someone from selling you a house they don't own. But it also means anyone can look up who owns a given property and, in many jurisdictions, see the price paid.

Some property owners who want more privacy use LLCs or trusts to hold title, which obscures the beneficial owner's identity. (You'd be surprised how many houses in your neighborhood are technically owned by a trust.) If you have concerns about your information appearing in property records, our privacy policy and opt-out page explain how we handle data on OpenDataUSA.

Getting Started with Your Research

Start with what you know. Got an address? Search for it on the county assessor's website or use a people search tool that aggregates property data. Got a person's name and want to find what they own? A nationwide search can surface results across multiple counties and states in seconds.

For deeper dives -- tracing a chain of title or reviewing actual recorded documents -- you may need to visit the county recorder's office or use their online document retrieval system. But for most people, a quick search gets you 90% of what you need.

Property records are, in my opinion, one of the most valuable and underappreciated categories of public data in the country. Once you know how to use them, you'll wonder how you ever made real estate decisions without them. Check out our blog for more guides on navigating public records.